Predetermined Fate
by The Queens of Fangirls
Summary: The worst community service job of all time turns into a dream come true for three girls as they are suddenly thrown into the world of the Avengers, but is it really a dream or a nightmare? Relationships and loyalties flare as the girls try to fit into the story, but it's not as easy as one would think when their lives are subject to a predetermined fate.
1. A World of Change

_**Author's Note:**_ Hello everyone, my name is Zenappa and I'm one of the co-writers of this amazing novel to be. My other two co-authors (Vanya Caladwen and Aranelle Caladwen) are my best friends both on this site and off and literally the greatest things that have ever happened to me. Vanya beta'ed this chapter, so thank you to her! :) So here's the scoop, I had the idea of creating an Avengers fangirl because we're all pretty much obsessed and look where we are! We actually made it! I really hope you enjoy it :) Oh and don't forget to review my lovelies.

Zenappa's notes will be normal.  
**Vanya's notes will be bolded.  
**_Aranelle's notes will be italics.  
_(Just so you don't get confused)

The first chapter to our amazing story (so modest aren't I?) is written by yours truly and from my character, Emerald Maitland's, point of view.

To check out other adventures of Emerald, Val and Pandora…

If I Never Knew You - Zenappa  
*A Pirates of the Caribbean Fangirl fic*

What If - Zenappa  
*A Disney Fangirl fic*

A World of a Difference - Aranelle Caladwen  
*A Sherlock Holmes Fangirl fic*

Unexpected Twists - Vanya Caladwen  
*A Thor Fangirl fic*

Until next time,  
Zenna :D

_**Playlist: **_Grassland Chant - Lion King Broadway, Little April Shower - Bambi, Payphone - Maroon 5, Hearing Damage - Thom Yorke, Slow Life - Grizzly Bear, Driving with the Top Down - Hans Zimmer (Iron Man)

_**Disclaimer: **_We do not own Avengers or anything Marvel related unfortunately. I, Zenappa, own Emerald Maitland, Vanya owns Valencia Flint and Aranelle owns Pandora Whitman.

**Predetermined Fate**

**Chapter 1: A World of Change**

_It wasn't supposed to be like this. I promise, whatever occurred to us, I had nothing to do with this time… It was just one of those things that just kind of happened. Looking back, it's very difficult to explain but somehow the world as we knew it changed. Our lives were forever affected and there was simply nothing we could about it. I can honestly say though, my life at least changed for the better. My friends, well I couldn't really answer for them… But I felt almost distanced from them now and I wasn't sure how much more I could take. Yes, I just said my life changed for the better and I wouldn't go back and change anything that happened to us but I couldn't help but hope that things could be different. Yes, I know that's sort of contradictory but please bear with me… I'm not exactly in my right mind now. I guess I never knew what it would be like to be in this situation but now that I have, I don't know what to do. The fate that intertwined my friends and me was already predetermined…_

"Miss Maitland," snapped a voice, jerking me out of my thoughts. I shook my head, my eyes widening, and I stared up at the person calling me. "I know it may be the last thing you want to be doing right now, but you must pay attention."

"Sorry," I breathed, my heart still thrumming in my chest. I brushed a stray piece of blond hair from my eyes and blinked twice to wake myself up from my daydream. What was I even thinking about? I couldn't even remember anymore. I swear, I had the worst short-term memory ever.

A foot kicked me in the side and I looked to my right towards the jab. "Yes?" I questioned, raising a carefully plucked eyebrow. My best friend in the whole wide world, Valencia Flint, grinned back at me and mimicked me sleeping on the chair in front of me. I sighed and turned away from my friend, smoothing out the dress I wore today.

Right now, it was the middle of the hottest summer on record and I was stuck in this hot and stuffy movie theater for six freaking hours doing community service. I probably wouldn't have even showed if it wasn't for my two best friends. Speaking of, where was - I stopped my searching around the room as my eyes rested on my younger friend, Pandora Whitman, who had just tied her short red hair back in a tiny ponytail. I stifled a chuckle as the memories of her chopping off all of her hair came darting back into my head. I gave another shake of my head as I sighed, tuning out the instructor in the front of the room again.

Community service sucked. Trust me, I wouldn't be caught dead doing it if it wasn't for Pandora and Val… They were the ones who practically dragged me here. Otherwise, I would have had my mom forge something like I've always done before. It's always worked before so why stop now? Apparently, my argument failed against my two younger friends. I'm telling you, college is not all it's cracked up to be. Even after just finishing my junior year at Juilliard, I was still the laziest person on Earth. Sure, I may be the best dancer and singer in my class but that meant nothing to people who actually had me work. Nevertheless, summer was one of my favorite times of year because frankly, while I loved Juilliard, I missed my old friends. No matter what, Val and Pandora would be my best friends who always had my back in any situation. A week ago, Val had driven over twelve hours from Lansing, Michigan (where she just finished her junior year as well) to New York City to visit me… and just two days later, Pandora flew in from San Francisco where she just finished her freshman year in college. I must say, it was nice to have them back; I missed them like hell.

"Any questions?" the instructor interrupted my thoughts again and I almost jumped in shock. I resisted the urge to swear, it was getting to be a habit… one I had to break, claimed Val. I had rolled my eyes when I first heard that, like that was going to happen anytime soon. Oh well, I would just pester Val or Pandora until they told me what I missed.

All of the other students got to their feet and started doing the jobs that they signed up for; frankly I couldn't even remember what jobs we signed up for. Well crap. This was going to be interesting indeed…. I seriously wanted to kill myself, this was the last place on Earth I wanted to be. I mean, why go to the movie theater if you're not going to watch movies? I felt myself being pulled in one direction and I came face to face with Val.

"Hi," I yawned. "So what's the scoop?"

She sighed, her eyes shooting up to the ceiling in exasperation, "Honestly Em, do you ever pay attention?"

"Val, it's summer. Expecting me to pay attention in this heat is like trying to get me to hate Robert Downey Jr, it's just not done."

That got a smile out of my other blond-haired friend and I gave her a small one back, maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. I opened my mouth to say something but Pandora interrupted the two of us. Typical gingers.

"Guys," she whined. "What are you doing? We're supposed to be working!"

I raised both of my eyebrows this time; this was not what I had signed up for. Val nodded in agreement with the soon to be sophomore. "She's right," Val replied instantly. "Let's get to work."

"Let's not," I retorted although I didn't protest outwardly as my two friends dragged me in the direction of an empty theater. Pandora immediately grabbed the broom and handed the mop to Val. Val glared at Pandora and I sighed, feeling an argument coming on.

"Again?" Val shouted. "You give me the mop every time! I just can't take this anymore! Why do you always have to take the easy way out Pandora?"

Pandora shrugged, "Why not? I always win."

"No you most certainly do not!" Val exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "You just keep going on to yourself and I never know what the heck you're saying!"

"Hell," I corrected, plopping myself on the ground. "You need to learn how to swear my friend."

Val ignored me and kept reaming Pandora, "And another thing, you're really pissing me off today. I mean, it's worse than usual. You've made fun of my lipstick, my change purse, the way I did my hair, my glitter glue -"

"Wait," I interrupted. "You have glitter glue?"

Pandora laughed, "My reaction exactly."

This, however, only got Val angrier and I grimaced, my brilliant plan failing miserably. Pandora just stalked off in a different direction with her broom still, leaving me laying on the floor and Val with a half-broken mop in her hand.

"You come back here!" Val cried and ran after my red-headed friend. I yawned and stretched my arms over my head; this would be a good time for a nap. After all, no one else was in the theater and no one else would probably care. I closed my eyes for a second before a screech split the air. I shot to my feet instantly and hit a karate pose. When I realized it was only Pandora, I rolled my eyes and clambered on top of the nearest theater chair. Upon lying down, I realized that this seat and the surrounding ones were covered in grease, like oil grease. I jumped up once more, patting myself down to make sure none got in my hair. That was odd, what was oil grease doing at a movie theater? I wandered down to the first couple of rows and saw icicles dripping off the sides; Pandora ran past, broom still in hand, not a moment later. I called out to her to see if she noticed but she didn't reply so I figured she didn't hear me. I headed to the middle row and saw sparkles, almost like glitter glue (that thought just didn't want to go away), covering the entire section of seats. As Val darted by me, I frowned. What the hell was going on?

As I sauntered back to the back of the theater where I originally was, I had a bad feeling that wasn't just reluctance to start cleaning. I narrowed my eyes at the weirdly covered theater and suddenly something hit me. Literally and figuratively. As I peeled the piece of paper from the back of my head, I read the two words at the top of the paper and things began to make sense. The Avengers. That's the movie that was playing in here before and another showing was about to start any minute.

I noticed Val and Pandora still fighting towards the end of the theater and I jogged over to them. "Guys!" I exclaimed, waving my hands in the air. "Stop it!" I shoved myself between them but they kept pushing each other, and me this time, around the theater.

"Tell your friend to stop being so bossy," Val pointed out to me.

Pandora replied just as snippily, "Well tell your friend to stop being so jumpy."

"Hey!" I shouted. "Can you cut it out?" They didn't stop however and we edged closer and closer to the actual movie screen just as the next showing of Avengers started playing. Shit. I refrained from swearing out loud but my colorful mind was going a mile a minute. I tried to interrupt my arguing friends again but I was caught in the middle… literally. The funny thing was though; there were no people in the theater to watch the movie. It was just us.

Now I knew something fishy was going on but I didn't have a lot of time to think however, for Pandora and Val shoved us all right into the movie screen. I groaned, expecting to crash into it and bump right back out with a few bruises and scratches, but instead we passed right through it. What the hell? I didn't have time to say anything as I felt my hands slip away from my friends' and let darkness overtake me.

I woke up a few hours later on unfamiliar ground before the events of earlier came swarming back into my brain. This was just great. We were all passed out on the sticky and icky movie theater ground with people probably staring at us and we were probably not even going to get the hours for this stupid thing. I finally opened my eyes and realized that I wasn't in the movie theater anymore. I frowned and struggled to sit up; my attempt to move failed and I plopped back down on my back. If I wasn't in the theater anymore, where the hell was I? And where exactly were Pandora and Val?

An annoying yet oddly familiar beeping sound overcame my hearing capacity and I groaned, turning my head to the side to see what it was. An alarm clock or phone perhaps? What I saw, however, was neither of these options or anything else I could have possibly come up with. What I saw, lying next to me, was a Hammerdrone ready to self-destruct. I basically accepted this nightmare and I closed my eyes again, ready to die in my dreams so I could wake up again in reality.

I never got that far. A flash of red caught the edge of my eye and I felt myself be scooped upwards and into the air, almost like I was flying… Wait a minute… I looked upwards and almost died; I gasped inwardly and felt my heart skip a beat. I pinched myself quickly and felt a pain jabbing in my arm, this was no dream. I was being rescued by Iron Man, by Tony Stark, by Robert Downey Jr.

Holy shit.


	2. Insanity and Inception

**Hi everyone! It's Vanya writing this chapter as Valencia. A huge thanks to Zenappa who beta read this chapter before I shared it with all of you! She makes things sound better and fixes the grammatical disaster that I produce in writing. ;) I hope you like it, here's the second installment in Predetermined Fate!**

_**Disclaimer**_**: **Nothing here belongs to me, save Val. Pandora is Aranelle's, Em is Zenna's, and I'm afraid Marvel already took everything else.

**Predetermined Fate**

**Chapter 2: Insanity and Inception**

I had always hated waking up. Waking up meant that the fun of the night was over; the magical feeling that I always had at dusk into the early morning hours had to end, I would have to start another day over again. What I hated even more than just waking up was waking up in a twisted position on a hard, cold, unfamiliar surface with a headache. Even worse than that was waking up with all of the above symptoms to the rhythmic pounding of an ungodly loud hammer.

I turned my head to the side, prepared to tell off whoever was doing roofing work again, only to see a sight that almost had me pass out again. I had to revise my description of the hammer. Right in front of my eyes was the god of thunder himself, wielding the most _godly_ hammer in his hand, wailing on the surface of the Bifrost. Behind him was the god of mischief in the flesh, Loki. My brain registered in about half a second that this was the ending scene of Thor, my favorite movie at the current moment, but I was completely baffled as to how on earth, or, Midgard as it would now be called, I got here.

"It's got to be a dream. It's a dream," I muttered to myself. That was the only explanation. I now felt foolish for thinking for even a second that this could really be real. Leave it to me to wish that I actually _could_ go to Asgard, were it real. I was pretty impressed with my obvious lucid dreaming skills now. I'd never accomplished a dream until this one where I actually knew I was dreaming, and I decided to have some fun with it.

Neither Thor nor Loki had realized that I was in their presence yet, so I took advantage of watching the end of my favorite movie again. It was only when Thor hit the Bifrost for the second last time and I felt the shock waves against my body that I felt that something might be wrong. This was a good dream, not a nightmare! The shards that came next amplified that feeling. Little bits of what felt like glass but were likely something far more dangerous and sturdy flew at me, and on instinct I covered my face with my hands. The shards of what I assumed was the close to broken Bifrost penetrated the skin on my palms with one sharp stinging pain after another. Some went into my arms and legs, and others pierced my face where my small hands didn't cover. Fortunately, nothing went into my eyes or mouth, so I wasn't in critical condition. It was enough to shake me though.

_What the hell? _I thought to myself, not speaking this out loud. I wouldn't swear in this situation, even though Em wasn't here to witness it. I had a reputation to maintain- I wouldn't be caught breaking it yet! _I don't think one can get hurt in dreams, that's not how it works. _

Another realization dawned on me, this one sending shock throughout my entire body. You know the feeling you get when you realize you've missed an important occasion, or when something goes so horribly wrong that your entire body freezes up in a temporary paralysis due to the numbing shock of it all? That's what it was like.

_The golden standard for waking yourself up from a dream is to pinch yourself. If you don't wake up, you're not dreaming. I just took about a hundred shards of Bifrost to the hands, body, and face. If that didn't wake me up…_

I felt myself going into a state of hyperventilation. "There is _no_ way that this is real. No way," I said to myself. As if in a mocking answer saying, "Haha, guess what? It is real!", the impact of Loki and Thor's combined strength against the Bifrost propelled me backwards even farther than the last hit had. My stomach dropped to my feet as I felt my legs lose contact with the ground and fly out into the open space over the edge. My face hit the bridge's surface, and I clawed desperately at the smooth surface to avoid falling into the void. That reality check made my heart hammer in my chest with a force to rival Mjolnir. I somehow heaved myself up- pure adrenaline for sure, as I had zero upper body strength- and looked on at a horrifying sight. I'd seen it so many times on my high definition TV, but it was so much worse to watch in person. I knew what was coming here, and no one else did. Even though I was standing right where the action was taking place, I could do nothing to stop it as Loki's hand slipped from Thor's as they were hanging over the edge. There was a second where as I was peering over the edge, our eyes connected, and he was gone.

I wasn't a god, what could I have done to stop him? There is no way that I could have stopped him from letting go.

_Then why do you feel so guilty?_ a little voice inside my head spoke.

_Aw, hell nah. First I get transported to this insane place which I haven't yet worked out and haven't yet accepted as real, and now I'm getting voices in my head? I've lost it. I've completely lost it._

"You've lost what?"

A voice startled me; I hadn't realized that I had spoken the last part out loud. Big blue eyes stared into my own, and I screamed and jumped back a little. For the second time, I almost fell over the edge. I was having way too many near death encounters to be happy. A strong hand caught my arm and pulled me back up to land about five feet from where I had started. I wasn't obese, but I'd never met anyone who could pull me off of a cliff and throw me that far with one hand and not even become unbalanced in the slightest. Either this was Thor Odinson, or I was officially checking myself into a mental hospital as soon as I woke up for 'disturbing dreams, illusions, and inner voices.'

"My apologies, I meant no harm," Thor said. I could tell that he was affected by Loki's fall into the void and was struggling to remain this polite. Odin had now caught on to the fact that I was there. One look at his face was enough to know that he didn't want to deal with me right now.

"Thor… bring her inside, we'll question her later." Thor bowed his head once to his father and turned to me.

"I'm sorry. I don't know where you are from, but you must come back with me, for now, Miss…?"

It took me a second to respond. "Uh, Valencia. Valencia Flint."

Thor spoke again, "Well, Valencia, you've picked a terrible time to come here." As I looked around at the broken Bifrost, Odin's hunched over frame walking back to the golden halls of his palace, and Thor's broken face at the loss of his brother, I had a pretty good understanding of what he meant.

"I know."

As I opened my eyes, I felt a sense of relief wash over me. It was a dream after all, a vivid dream. The debate inside my head was over. I was a little surprised to find that I wasn't passed out on the floor of the movie theater though, where I was when I hit the screen and blacked out from hitting the ground. I supposed that someone had taken me home while I was unconscious, a movie theater couldn't just leave one of their employees in the theater asleep while guests were watching. It would send a bad message.

I sat up in the bed only to find that I was covered in a golden sheet in a room that was plated with metal walls of the same color. I groaned. This wasn't happening. This seriously wasn't happening. "This isn't possible," I said out loud. The shock factor was slowly returning. I was trapped here.

Just then, a blond head appeared in the doorway. "You're awake." I jumped, startled at the god of thunder's unannounced entrance.

"Obviously," I shot back snarkily. I wasn't used to this whole going crazy business yet.

"I'm sorry, I meant no disrespect." Thor replied as he entered the room fully. I just looked on warily. "You're from Midgard, aren't you? This has to be a shock for you, I can relate to being thrown in a strange place. Why, just recently,"

I cut him off by saying quickly, "Are you real? Is this a dream?"

Thor looked at me, confused, and gave a nervous laugh. "Of course this is real. You're in Asgard." I was still skeptical. I quickly went over some simple facts in my head.

_I was in the theatre where the Avengers had been playing, coincidentally. There were all sorts of strange things in that theatre, I remember. If a crossover of the world were to occur, I suppose it could be there. _

I'd studied a lot about space and what lies beyond the reaches of the known universe during my studies, and it wasn't completely implausible that there was life on another planet that had become more advanced than we had. It was likely, even, that someone had gained the ability to traverse the universes and had been seen by early people on earth, thus resulting in them being treated as gods. As reluctant as I was to admit it, this crazy situation was beginning to make a little sense.

Thor had waited patiently while I figured this out, and I thought it only fair to tell him what I had discovered. "Okay, I finally think that you may be real. Why not? So, what do I do now? How can I get home?" Thor's face turned more serious.

"You can't return to Midgard yet, not with the Bifrost in its current state." I supposed that made sense. You can't travel between worlds when your means of transportation is shattered.

"So… When are you going to get around to fixing it?" The look on Thor's face was enough answer for me.

I was stuck here forever. Worse, I was completely alone, with no idea what had happened to my friends in the wormhole of sorts that had occurred in the theatre.

After that conversation, I spent my time wandering around Asgard, exploring. There was apparently a feast tonight, but I really didn't feel like going. A "mortal" in a feast with all gods? Not a good idea. Without really knowing why, I felt my feet automatically put me on a course for the Bifrost. The long walk to the end seemed to take ages, and unfortunately it gave me time to think.

I had finally come to terms with the fact that this was real, as hard as it was to believe. The things that worried me now were that I had no idea what had happened to Em and Pandora after I had been thrown into this mess, and that I didn't have any idea what was coming next. So far, the events seemed to match up with that of the Thor movie, but I had come here at the end, and now the events that had been filmed were now ending, and I didn't know what was going to happen. I didn't like unpredictability or change, and, in a matter of minutes, I was going to have both in my life.

I had finally reached the end of the bridge to where Heimdall was still keeping watch. Without turning around, he spoke to me.

"I can see them."

This got my attention. "You can see who?"

"Your companions. The blonde and the red head. They are on Midgard, though not where you would expect them. Do not worry too much, they are safe for now."

I breathed a sigh of relief, letting out tension I'd had since I first got here. "Thank you," I said and turned away from the god. I walked a little way down the Bifrost away from the broken edge and sat down on the side, my legs dangling into space. Even though Heimdall had said not to worry about the other two, they had no one to tell them not to worry about me. I hoped they were together, wherever they were.

I don't know how long I sat there, staring down into the stars, but I was forced to look up when a shadow fell over my legs. Of course it was Thor standing next to me. Who else would it be? Hundreds of gods on this planet, and he keeps finding me first.

I couldn't see his head from my current height, but I refused to get up. "Sit down then, I can hardly see your face from down here." I said. The god just chuckled and obeyed to my request.

"So," he began, "you're from Midgard. Did you ever meet a scientist by the name of Jane Foster?"

I sighed. I didn't even know if Jane existed in my earth. "No, sorry, I've never been to New Mexico. I'm from New York, it's way north of there." I could tell Thor was disappointed, but he didn't show it much.

"Ah, I see." He paused for a second then said, "I hope Loki doesn't find her first. What he'd do to her if he did, I don't even want to imagine." I frowned at the mention of Thor's brother.

"He's a man in pain, you know. He just wanted a family; it was so hard for him. He didn't really fit in anywhere. I think that's why he was so angry before." Thor looked at me inquisitively.

"How do you know so much about my brother?"

I sighed, now was definitely not the time for this. "It's a really, really long story. Don't ask, I just do." A thought hit me just then. If I had just experienced the end of Thor… Who's to say that the Avengers wasn't about to happen? I didn't know how long of a gap there was in between the two stories, but I was going to take full advantage of whatever time I had. When Thor returned to Earth- and I was trying hard to convince myself that it was indeed a question of when, not if- he would be fighting an army. There was no way that I would be just leaving to go home, and I didn't think I could anyway. I still hadn't figured out whether this was the same universe as my own or not. I would need to learn how to fight.

"Teach me how to fight."

Thor raised an eyebrow at this. It was a pretty random thought, even for me, but it needed to be done. I was already making a mental list of arguments to convince the god, but apparently my request had some kind of need that was conveyed within the words, because he agreed without any persuasion.

"Alright. I believed in Sif, the first maiden who was able to become a warrior, and I have now heard stories of famous maiden warriors in your realm. You managed to be brought here before the Bifrost was broken, that means that you must be stronger than most. I can't teach you how to wield Mjolnir, however. I only have one."

I racked my brain to think of what possible weapon the Asgardians would have that I could use. One answer came to me repeatedly, and I decided to go along with it. "I need to learn how to use a sword. Can you teach me that?"

Thor laughed, "You have spirit in you, and a will to learn! Of course! When do we start?"

I glanced down again at the sparkling stars below my feet. My friends were down there somewhere with a war ready to break at any second, now that Loki had fallen.

_I'm waiting for the chance to help. I'll be ready when it starts, ready to help kill Chitauri. I'll do whatever it takes. _

"Now."

**To check out other adventures of Emerald, Val and Pandora…**

If I Never Knew You - Zenappa  
*A Pirates of the Caribbean Fangirl fic*

What If - Zenappa  
*A Disney Fangirl fic*

A World of a Difference - Aranelle Caladwen  
*A Sherlock Holmes Fangirl fic*

Unexpected Twists - Vanya Caladwen  
*A Thor Fangirl fic*


	3. The City that Never Sleeps

**Authors Note: **_Hey everyone! It's Aranelle Caladwen (woop woop!) writing with two of the most spectacular writers on FanFiction! We're having so much fun writing! It's really a party! If you decide to come, bring some snacks. _

_Be sure to check out the other adventures of Emerald, Pandora and Val!_

_If I Never Knew You – Zenappa_

_*A Pirates of the Caribbean Fangirl Fic*_

_What If – Zenappa_

_*A Disney Fangirl Fic*_

_A World of a Difference – Aranelle Caladwen_

_*A Sherlock Holmes Fangirl Fic*_

_Unexpected Twists – Vanya Caladwen_

_*A Thor Fangirl Fic*_

_Read those stories and be sure to click the review button! (Pst! It's actually a secret portal to our party! Again, bring some snacks.)_

**DISCLAIMER- **_I do not own anything Marvel *cries*, I do not own Emerald, I do not own Valencia, HOWEVER! I do own yours truly Pandora Whitman! Da da da da! _

_Enjoy this chapter and be sure to read and review!_

**Predetermined Fate**

**Chapter 3- The City that Never Sleeps**

_Have you ever had a dream so real that you wake up and think that it actually happened? Those times I feel, tend to be the absolute worst, because mostly they are good dreams that you want to go on, not the ones so wicked you wish that you had never fallen asleep in the first place. Well, I was having one of these moments, but I couldn't decide if it was good or bad, until I realized, it wasn't a dream at all. _

I woke up in a hospital. _Why am I here?_ I thought. I tried to lift my head up and look around, but I couldn't get very far. My hands and feet were strapped to the bed. _Oh just perfect_, I thought, _I'm being held hostage in a hospital, I have no idea where I am, I can't get up to look around, and I have no idea where Valencia and Emerald are!_ I let out a disgruntled huff and tried to relax. I would simply wait until someone came to release me, and then I would find Val and Em. I waited for twenty minutes or so, studying the oh so intriguing patterns on the ceiling, before someone came in. It was a young man, probably between the ages of 25 and 30, with a long white coat and glasses. He had brown hair and brown eyes, stood about 5'11" and walked very fast. He came over to me.

"What's your name miss?" he asked, clipboard at the ready.

"Uh, P-Pandora. Pandora Whitman," I replied.

"Ok. Where did you come from? We found you on the floor in the lobby and brought you here," he asked, looking at me skeptically.

"Well, I live in San Francisco, b-but I was just in New York for the week..." I trailed off. Wait. The movie theater! I had just been in the movie theater with Val and Em doing community service and then it went dark. It was fuzzy after that. Then I just wake up here?

"Ok then. So you were in the area today?" he asked.

_The area? What the hell? I'm still in New York?_

"I'm in New York?" I asked.

The doctor looked confused.

"Yes, you are. Don't you remember where you last were?"

Yes. In fact I do. But I wasn't going to tell him that.

"Everything's a little fuzzy. I must have gotten knocked out. Can I go?" I asked hopefully.

The doctor sighed.

"Well, I suppose you can. We tested you for a concussion and the results came back negative so I don't see why you can't go!" he replied. He unstrapped me finally and said I was free to go. However, I was not ready to go; I was ready to find out where my friends were, how I got here, and where exactly I was.

I wandered around the hallways and confirmed one thing. I was in a hospital. I went up to the front desk and asked if Valencia Flint, Emerald Maitland, or Pandora Whitman had been put into the guest book and none of us had_. So I'm not even supposed to be here! But if we all got knocked out in the same place at the movie theater, then shouldn't they have found us all at the same time and brought us to the same hospital?_ I decided to look around some more. I walked all around floors 5, 4, 3 and 2 with no luck at all. I thought I would try floor one just to make sure. I walked down the first hallway and looked into every room. I looked in one room in particular and saw a man in a blue and red suit. I kept walking then stopped dead in my tracks. I walked backwards slowly until I reached the same room. I gasped. I felt myself reach for the handle to enter the room, and I took a slow deep breath as I pushed the door open. I stepped inside slowly. I shut the door behind me and looked at the man again. I couldn't believe it. It couldn't be true! I crept over to where he was laying down in a bed and looked at him from above. Yep. I was in the wrong hospital. I should be in the mental institute. Because when I looked down at the man, I didn't see some wackjob in a superhero's suit, I saw the real Captain America in the flesh. I leaned down and looked at his face. I didn't realize how close I was until he opened his eyes and looked straight into mine. I screamed at the top of my lungs and stumbled backwards. I knocked over a table of tools and they scattered everywhere as I tripped backwards onto the floor. He looked around, confused and shocked.

"Who are you?" he asked.

I was speechless. _What the hell was going on?_

"I'm Pandora! Who are you?" I demanded.

"I'm, I'm Captain America. Steve Rogers," he replied.

I stood there with my mouth hanging open. I had always been a little gullible but this was a whole different ball park. For some reason I actually caught myself believing him. I stepped forward.

"So, Captain America, where were you last?" I questioned.

"I was, in a plane that crashed in the ice, talking to..." he trailed off. "Where is Peggy?"

He was asking the wrong person, but I knew. There was only one way to find out if this was real. "Come on," I said. I helped him up and I led him down the hall. We walked down the hallway and stepped outside. Outside was Times Square, with flashing lights, bustling people, complete with streets packed with taxi cabs. He stepped back with panic in his eyes.

"W-What is this place?" he stammered.

"This is New York. Don't worry, you're not the only one being thrown into a new world without warning. C'mon. It's ok. Everything will be explained in time," I replied. I tried not to say everything about him being asleep because if it was true, Nick Fury would be driving up soon.

After a few minutes, a black car pulled up and agents came out, followed by a man with a black eye patch. It was Nick Fury, and I was caught up smack dab in the middle of the Captain America movie. Well, the end, but would I go back after it was over? Nick Fury walked over to us but didn't seem to notice me. "Rogers! We meant to break this news to you slowly, but when you crashed that plane, you got frozen. You've only just woken up. You've been asleep for 70 years." Steve Rogers looked at Nick Fury and I could tell by the look in his eyes he was thinking of Peggy. I patted his back, reassuring him that everything was going to be alright. But I had no idea. I didn't even know how the true movie ended. Despite Valencia's badgering, when we watched Captain America together I never stayed for the end credits and the post credits scenes. So this was it. Everything after this point was uncharted territory. Suddenly a wave of homesickness overcame me. Not of San Francisco, but of New York. Even though I was still there, I missed my friends. And this movie was made a while ago. Even if I could find the movie theater, the chances of me finding my friends were next to nothing. So I slowly walked away and sat on a corner of Times Square by myself. After a while, Steve walked over to me.

"Hey," he said.

"Hi," I responded.

"Well, since we both don't know what to do, let's figure this out. Together." I nodded. He was the only one I could trust right now. I stood up and so did he. Then I had a thought. If I was in the Captain America movie, then who's to say Val and Em aren't in other movies? After all, the Avengers playing in the theater off schedule was suspicious and I just end up in one of the Avenger's Movie? Maybe Em is with Iron Man, like she would dream of being. What if we all met up in the Avengers? In that case, I would need to get prepared. "What is it?" he asked.

"Can you teach me how to shoot?" I asked.

He looked at me. "Well, I suppose. Why?"

I smiled. He wouldn't know about the Avengers, but we could help each other prepare anyway. "I just want to learn." He looked at me again. "Alright then." He tossed me a pistol. "Show me what you can do and we'll go from there."

I looked at him. "I come from this time period. People don't take kindly to people shooting randomly in public. Let's find a better place," I suggested.

We walked around for a while and found an abandoned building. He set up targets and stepped back for me to shoot. I held up the pistol, took a shot, and the target exploded. I did this twice, before moving onto the wall. I shot and hit the second ring from the outside. Steve stepped over to me.

"You're very good. But with a little practice, you could be perfect."

I nodded and dropped the pistol.

He then walked into the back of the building. I followed him. We walked for a while, exploring for a better place, until we came across a room filled with punching bags. Some sort of training room. He walked over to one and started wailing away at it. He hit it a few times before landing the final blow, and the bag snapped off the hinges, flew across the room, and landed on the other side of the floor. I looked at him with my mouth wide open. 70 years hadn't taken a toll on his strength apparently. Just then, Nick Fury walked in. Steve looked at him.

"Are you here with a mission sir?"

"I am," Fury replied.

"Trying to get me back in the world?"

"Trying to save it."

Steve stopped what he was doing and listened more closely.

"Save it?"

"Rogers, how would you like to join the Avengers?"

**Author's note: **_Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for more chapters and make sure to leave a review!_


	4. The Fire Rises

_**Author's Note: **_ELLO! It's me again, Zenna :D How did you enjoy my other gurls' chapters? I thought they were freaking amazing, but then again that's me (and I'm always right XD). So please enjoy this next chapter that's written by yours truly, we get to see how much trouble Emerald gets up to! Oh and don't forget to leave us a review, feed the authors! Love ya! Oh and a special thanks to my amazing beta **Vanya Caladwen** :D

**Playlist: **Born in Darkness - Hans Zimmer (The Dark Knight Rises), The Avengers - Alan Silvestri (The Avengers), As Long As You Love Me - Justin Bieber, Live to Rise - Soundgarden, Comeback - Redlight King

**Disclaimer: **We don't own The Avengers or Iron Man or Captain America or Thor or anything else Marvel-related… They can take all of my money! Just take it! But Emerald is mine, Val is Vanya's and Pandora is Aranelle's. Enjoy once again! :D

* * *

**Predetermined Fate**

**Chapter 4: The Fire Rises**

_Knowing that my past was about to become my future was scary enough, knowing that I knew almost everything about this world that I now resided in was even scarier… but the scariest thing was that everything I knew was changing._

I must admit, I was a little overwhelmed. After waking up from "hitting the movie theater screen" to discover that I was sleeping next a Hammerdrone, realizing that this wasn't a dream, and getting rescued by none other than Iron Man himself, I was getting a little woozy. I was never a big fan of heights and while I was star struck by being carried by Tony Stark, I still felt like I was going to vomit my guts out from looking down. It was only because I wasn't in control however… If I was in the suit myself, I would be fine! I closed my eyes and prayed that doing that would help; it didn't.

"Hey," came the electronic voice of Tony Stark behind the Iron Man mask and I almost jumped straight out of his arms at the shock of it. "Are you alright? You look like you're either going to pass out or die."

I raised an eyebrow, "Tell me one thing Mr. Stark." It felt weird slipping off of my tongue even though I've been saying his name every day in some context since the first Iron Man movie came out in 2008. I had to bite my lip to keep from breaking out into a wide grin just from the fact of talking to him. "Is this real?" I continued.

Although I couldn't see his face, I could tell that he was frowning in a mixture of despair and confusion. I knew that he wouldn't respond and I took that as my answer. Of course this was real, to him and it should be to me too. But something inside of me kept telling me that something was wrong, something wasn't right… Suddenly, it hit me like a ton of bricks.

Shit.

I nearly tumbled out of his arms once more and he tightened his grip on me. "Holy shit!" I exclaimed, thrashing around as I tried to get a hold of my senses. "Where's Pepper? Where the hell is Pepper?" I kept going, my heart pounding in my chest. "What happened to the rooftop scene where she quits and you kiss and fall in love and Rhodey shows up later and steals the suit and - and -" I ran out of breath and by the look on Tony's face, I figured he didn't catch a word I said other than about Pepper.

"Calm down!" Tony exclaimed. "She's fine, Colonel Rhodey took her and she's safe now." After a moment's pause where I was about to say something, Tony added, "How the hell do you know Pepper?"

I opened and closed my mouth without saying a word. Things were more complicated than I first would have imagined. If my being here was going to change the movies, then what was going to happen next? Suddenly, nothing felt safe anymore.

Holy shit.

Where the hell were Pandora and Val? That was the first time I thought of them since waking up in this familiar, yet not my, world. A twinge of guilt struck the depths of my belly and I felt bad but I would never share this fact. _I mean, I'm being saved by Robert Downey Jr!_ I tried to convince myself but it wasn't necessarily working, I still felt like crap.

"It's a long story Mr. Stark," I finally said. "I would feel better if we could just go to where she is."

He nodded once, "Your wish is my command princess." I rolled my eyes as he affixed, "You know, you can just call me Tony."

I smiled and didn't respond, my mind still whirling from the past ten minutes. We reached a familiar looking rooftop and I realized that it was the same one from the ending of Iron Man 2. Wait a minute… As I recalled, Val and Pandora pushed all of us into the movie theater screen, causing us to fall through the screen. I had thought it had been an illusion at the time but now I was certain that it wasn't. If I ended up here in the Iron Man universe, where had my friends gone? There were only so many places in the Marvel universe and I assumed that they had to be somewhere around here. I only hoped that I would see them again.

"Tony!" came a loud relieved squeal as we landed on the rooftop and I sprung to my feet reluctantly. I must say, it was nice being in close proximity to my ultimate celebrity crush. Pepper Potts herself came running up to Tony and threw her arms around his neck. This wasn't in the movie…

Tony pulled off his sparking helmet and threw it to the side, ignoring the grinding of metal on the ground now. I took a few steps backwards and melted into the shadows to watch. I was a little confused now, what happened to the ending that I knew and loved? What happened to Pepper and Tony living happily ever after? I frowned, something wasn't right here and I couldn't help but feel like it was because of me.

The couple just stood there and looked at each other for a moment before Tony brought his hand up to Pepper's cheek. "I can never thank you enough," he murmured under his breath. "You've done everything and more for me and you don't deserve this."

"I know," Pepper whispered back and leaned in to kiss him. Tony met her halfway and their lips met; I broke out into a large grin, this was even better in person, and tried to contain my excitement. As they pulled away, Tony squeezed his eyes shut and Pepper looked away for a moment.

Pepper looked back after her second of hesitation, "You know this is never going to work don't you?"

"I know," Tony said solemnly. "You're everything I have Pepper and I can't lose you." He took her hand gently and looked deep in her eyes.

She smiled back, "You're all I have too, you know. You're a great man Tony Stark and I promise you will find someone, but you'll always have me."

"You're the best Pep," he grinned and let go of her hand softly.

Pepper squinted into the surrounding shadows, "Now, go deal with our audience, they seem a bit shocked." She chuckled and walked away towards the staircase leading down from the rooftop. Tony turned to where I was still standing, frozen in place with my mouth hanging open. This was not how I wanted this movie to end! I was seriously considering killing myself when Tony let out a low miffed laugh. I shook my head, ending my frozen state, and marched towards him angrily.

"What the freaking hell was that?" I threw my hands up in the air. "She loves you and you love her so why can't you be together?"

He rubbed his goatee thoughtfully before answering my questions, "It's a long story." He winked in my direction as he threw my line from earlier back at me. I narrowed my eyes and shook my head menacingly. "You are something else," I retorted.

"You know," he continued, ignoring me. "I never got your name."

I did a little mocking bow, "Emerald Maitland at your service." I paused, letting my name sink in, before I realized that it was official. There was no screwing around or messing up this time, even though I already did of course. I broke up one of the most famous couples in Marvel history just by accidentally entering this universe, and that was damn upsetting! I wondered what else would change and I only hoped that it wouldn't be too drastic. I wasn't sure how much more I could take. "How did you find me anyway?" I asked curiously. "I'm not even sure how I got there."

"I was flying to find Pepper," he explained, "when I saw you just lying there like you meant to be there. I couldn't just let you die, so I called in Rhodey to find Pep and I rescued you."

"You didn't even know me!"

Tony raised an eyebrow, "I've already killed way too many innocent people in my life, and I have enough blood on my hands."

I shrugged; I wasn't complaining of course! I'm glad to be alive, it's just a selfless part of me wished that Tony had left me to die. Nothing would have changed and everything would be like it was before… The bigger part of me however told me that I should be grateful to the superhero and I knew I would be forever.

I sighed and pivoted myself away from the billionaire. I needed time to think… But of course, the playboy (ex?) couldn't leave me alone for two seconds and I spun back around with an annoyed expression plastered on my face.

"At least let me take you home," he said. "You owe me that much."

I rolled my eyes, "I don't owe you anything and I don't need your charity."

"The city needs time to redeem itself and do its clean-up; besides, I insist."

I shook my head. This was the tough part…. I didn't have a home, I didn't have a place to go and I honestly didn't know what to do. I closed my eyes and rubbed my forehead vigorously; why wouldn't this man give up? "I don't have a home," I muttered under my breath and he craned his head towards me.

"Pardon?" he questioned.

I squeezed my eyes tighter as I repeated a bit louder, "I don't have a home." There was no response at first and I wasn't even sure he heard or comprehended. I slowly pressed open my eyes to see him staring curiously at me. "I'm not from around here," I revealed quietly. Tony didn't change his expression, "Where are you from exactly?"

"It's complicated," I sighed and he seemed to accept that for now.

He clapped his hands together, "Well it looks like you're bunking with me and Pep tonight!" I raised my eyebrows, "What?"

"You heard me," he smirked. "You're staying in the Stark Mansion."

I shook my head, "I really couldn't."

"I insist," he threw that line at me again and I knew I couldn't refuse the part of me that was jumping out of my skin just at the sight of him. I reluctantly agreed and I yelped as he grabbed me around the waist and flew us off again in the direction of Stark Mansion.

"What about Pepper and Rhodey?" I questioned about halfway through our flight.

He didn't even flinch, "They took the car."

I didn't say anymore until we landed safely on the ground again in front of Stark Mansion. I gasped at the sheer size of it and I knew, by pinching myself once again, that this really wasn't a dream. I wobbled where I stood and I had to steady myself rather quickly to prevent myself from toppling over. Tony instantly headed inside but I didn't follow right away. I still didn't trust anyone, not even the billionaire superhero himself, and I made damn sure that I wasn't going to get any more involved than I already was.

Whatever possessed me to think that, however, was about to be proven wrong as soon as I walked in the door to Tony's home.

"Damn," I swore as I sauntered into the first room in the building to see the man in charge, Nick Fury, himself standing in the room and staring in my direction.

"Who the hell are you?" the director of SHIELD questioned and I lost my voice for a moment. "Em-Emerald Maitland," I stammered. "It's nice to meet you sir."

He frowned, "I meant why the hell are you in Mr. Stark's house?"

"Tony rescued me and I don't live around here so he offered me a guest room for the night," I explained, figuring it would be best not to lie to this man. Fury's expression didn't change and I gave a small nod to relieve the tension and awkwardness in the room. It didn't help.

"Where exactly are you from Miss Maitland?" he questioned after two minutes of uncomfortable silence.

I opened and closed my mouth, trying to think of a way to divert the question without outright lying to this man. "New York," I finally agreed on.

"And what are you doing here in California?" he kept pounding me with the questions like he didn't really believe me.

"I honestly don't know sir," I replied truthfully.

Fury squinted his one good eye in my direction, "Funny, I was just in New York a couple of hours ago and I just had a similar case, only backwards now that I think about it. I met a girl that was hanging around that was from California but somehow ended up in New York."

My head snapped up at the director's comment, "What was her name?"

He raised an eyebrow questioningly, "So you do know something." I shook my head, "Maybe I do, maybe I don't. What's her name?"

"You do not want to be playing this game with me Miss Maitland," he snapped and I narrowed my eyes. Suddenly, at the supposed mention of one of my friends, I didn't care how much I pissed off Fury. Tony seemed to do it all the time and he was just fine so why couldn't I?

"Oh you don't know about that Director Fury," I said. "Do you want to know how much exactly I know or should I just keep it to myself and perhaps accidentally leak some information about the Avengers Initiative to the public?"

He shook his head, "You're getting in some deep shit Miss Maitland."

"All I need is the girl's name," I repeated for what seemed like the billionth time.

The director sighed and stared at me for a moment until he finally relented, "Pandora Whitman." I gasped and stumbled backwards. This couldn't be happening. Pandora was in New York still? Why was she in New York? Sure, that's where we crashed into the movie screen but that didn't mean anything. Who was in New York? I scrolled through my Marvel thoughts in my brain until it dawned on me. Captain America, post-frozen state, ended up in New York in the hospital at the end of the movie under his name. When he awoke and tore into the streets of Times Square, Fury had pulled up and explained to Rodgers that he had been asleep for 70 years. What if Pandora ended up at the end of the Captain America movie like I had ended up at the end of Iron Man 2? What had changed down there? Suddenly, my breathing became restricted and I fought to take a breath.

What the hell was happening to us?

And if Pandora was with Cap and I was with Tony, where exactly was Val?

Fury tapped his foot impatiently and I snapped back to reality. I looked up at him and I knew my expression had become broken and scared. His expression, however, hadn't changed one bit, even at the sight of me. "I'm waiting," he said.

"I'm from New York City," I began, not exactly sure how to explain everything to the director. "I blacked out at a movie theater and when I woke up, I was laying on the ground next to a Hammerdrone. That's the truth, Director Fury."

He furrowed his eyebrows, "Then tell me Miss Maitland, how did you get all the way across the country and how exactly do you know about the Avengers Initiative?"

I bit my lip and thought hard, I really didn't have explanations for these questions and I broke into a sweat. How the hell was I supposed to answer that?

"Pestering the newbies already?" Tony entered the room, shaking his head. I could have kissed him, I had never been so happy to see a person in my life. Fury narrowed his eye at me as if to say that this conversation wasn't over.

Fury turned his attention to the billionaire reluctantly, "I need to talk to you."

"Well you've got me," he replied, opening his arms wide.

"Alone."

Tony narrowed his eyes at the director, "What is it?"

"It's about the Avengers Initiative," I piped up, earning the attention of both men in the room. I knew I shouldn't have said anything and kept my mouth shut but I couldn't just let this one pass by me. This was getting to be a dangerous mission.

"How do you know about that?" Tony asked curiously and Fury gave me a seething look in return. I sighed, this was going to be a long night indeed.


	5. Weak Mortal No More

**Hey everyone! So sorry about the delay, I hadn't felt like I really could write even, I was going through a rough spot through August, but it's a new month and I'm in a writing mood! I also had a massive load of summer homework to do this month, (C'mon, who does that?) but I'm back with a new chapter!**

**~Vanya**

**Predetermined Fate**

**Chapter 5: Weak Mortal No More**

"I hate my life!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. I threw my sword down to the dusty ground in defeat. I was covered in sweat, covered in bruises, and almost covered in blood. There were side effects to sparring with a god for sure, and it wasn't even the one I'd wanted.

Fandral was standing in front of me, annoyingly perfect. Gods didn't sweat, and my performance was so pathetic that his hair was still perfectly styled, not a wisp out of place. I'd have slapped him if I could get near him.

"Now that's a harsh thing to say; life is so short, especially for you mortals, that you should treasure every second of it. Life is to be praised, not hated," he sagely remarked.

"I know that better than anyone, look where I am now." I gestured with my hands around me at the grandeur of Asgard. "I'm probably dead right now! Feels like it anyway. I don't really need a deep, inspiring speech, thanks."

The god frowned and said, "All the same, you really should be more careful about your words. They shouldn't be treated lightly, words can bring down kings."

"It's a mortal expression, you wouldn't understand," I said. I looked away. That expression brought back memories of Emerald and me in high school. That was our go-to expression for complaining about school. Health and Math quizzes stuck out in particular in my brain.

I sighed and sat on some stone steps that led up to a rarely used armory with the more common weapons in it. I seriously couldn't believe today. Training with Thor was fun, he liked to yell and generally be loud and showy. Training with Fandral made me feel like he was just getting rid of me as quickly as possible so he could get back inside the palace walls and away from the stupid, weak, mortal.

Thor was away doing some sort of royal business again. I usually called it "Ruling an Empire 101" or "Leadership for Dummies" in my head. It wasn't really his fault that he had to go; Odin kind of forced him into being part of these things, and it did give me the chance to learn from the greatest blade master in the universe, but Thor was the only friend I had in this entire realm. It wasn't really possible to not miss him.

Fandral rolled his eyes and sat next to me.

"Giving up this early?"

I rolled my head to the side and raised my eyebrows in an incredulous look. "Really. You're asking that? Well, let's look at my progress today, recap what I accomplished."

I was silent for a few moments, and then said, "Alright. That about sums it up."

"Lady Valencia, your perspective on this matter is a bit off. You must remember, you're fighting gods here. I've had thousands of years to perfect my technique. You've been here for three weeks."

"Right pathetic it is," I mumbled, now looking at the ground again.

"Listen to me," he said, and turned my face towards him with his hand. "You're doing extremely well. You're getting stronger. You're strong for a mortal. You think that you're weak, but I'd be willing to bet that you would scare any human in your realm with your strength." Here he paused and winked at me. I rolled my eyes, dashing indeed, but it did make me feel a little better.

He got up and extended his hand down to me. "And now, Lady Valencia, the strong maiden from the land of…"

"New York," I replied, laughing at these antics. I grabbed his hand and pulled myself up.

"The land of New York," he finished, "we shall stand up again and fight once more!"

Even though I knew I was about to get my butt kicked for the hundredth time fighting this god, I didn't care as much this time. His speech had helped me out, so what if I couldn't fight gods yet? There were so many other things and people that I stood a chance against now. I picked up my sword and settled into my starting stance again. I was a little better at defending than attacking, so I usually waited for him to strike first, but I was feeling a little too good now. I sprung at the god with everything that I had. The next couple of minutes was a blur, as cliché as it sounds. Fandral wasn't being nice about his enhanced speed, it really was a blur.

We broke away after that spat. I was again tired and breathing hard, but I had a smile on my face. I now saw failure as a way of getting better. I turned to look at Fandral for his opinion on my fighting that time and nearly had a heart attack at what I saw.

He was looking at his finger in surprise, and then a brilliant grin sprung up on his face as he turned it around to show me. There was a tiny little cut on the pad of the finger. It wasn't even bleeding as far as I could tell, but the pinkish hue of it told me that I was making serious progress.

"Remember what I said about words being able to bring down kings? I guess I chose the right words," he said, still grinning like he'd just won the lottery.

My face split into a smile at these words.

Okay. Failure was still good. Success was even better.

Tonight was the first feast that I would be attending since I was landed here three weeks ago. Since then I'd been just getting food and leaving or eating something after everyone had left. I'd discovered a garden with all sorts of new and strange things growing in it as well, located just outside of Odin's palace. I was wary of the stranger fruits, but there were in fact some normal ones that I was able to recognize and take. I wasn't a fan of meat anyhow; I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything by living that way. Fandral had confronted me about it after our sparring match, however, and he was forcing me to go.

I was in the room that I'd adopted since I'd been here. There were some women that had offered to do my hair and get me ready, but I had pushed them away- nicely though.

"All this work for just eating." I said out loud to myself. It really was a lot of work, but I had to do it. Everyone else was dressed up every night, and I had no choice this time.

Somehow I'd gotten a hold of basic makeup to use, though it wasn't really like anything on Earth. I had braided my hair up in a complicated design- that was one thing I was actually good at. I took great pride in my long strawberry blonde hair and could braid better than anyone I knew. _At least in my 'realm'. Who knows how they do it here?_

There was also a green dress on hand with gold trim that I had chosen. The majority of the finer clothes in the closet were white, my least favorite color next to pink. The thought of the many days Em and Pandora had pestered me about wearing 90% black and 10% green came back to me, and a feeling of homesickness washed over my body like a wave hitting the shore. As awesome as it was here, I missed them terribly. Even if it would take having to fight a war to see them again, I was ready. I was ready to go home.

I deflated a little as I sighed. But who knew how long that would take? Em probably did, she knew all of the facts and bits of information about the Avengers. I hadn't researched them that thoroughly, and had no idea how long Thor had been on Asgard before Loki took over Earth.

"I just hope he hurries up with it," I said out loud again. I shook my head in a mixture of amusement and shame. How selfish could a person get, if I was actually hoping for Loki to start killing people so I could go home. I knew the line. "80 people in two days." I knew what was going to happen. I just didn't know when!

I grabbed a nearby pillow and threw it at the door in frustration. Just before it hit, the door opened and it smacked whoever had opened it. Granted, it was only a pillow, and he was a god, but I still jumped up to apologize to him as Thor stood laughing in my doorway.

"I'm sorry! I didn't know you were going to be standing there!" I said.

"Valencia, I'm fine. You're the one I'm worried about now." He had stopped laughing.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, what would make you think that?" I said, confused.

Thor held up the pillow that I had thrown at him as an answer.

I flopped down on my bed, laying on my back staring at the ceiling.

"I miss it."

"What?" Thor asked. He probably didn't think he was getting an answer out of me.

"New York. I miss it."

"That's where you're from then, is it? I've seen New Mexico on your planet, but never laid eyes on this New York. Is it like New Mexico then?"

I answered without sitting up. "Not really. It's complicated… It's a city, whereas New Mexico is a state. The city's smaller, and a lot colder. It's in the North. Not as cold as Jotunheim though. A bit like Asgard actually, but with more rain."

_Now I'm rambling about the weather. Brilliant._

"Hear my words, Lady Valencia, because I promise you, I will do everything in my power to make sure that you get home. I know how it feels to be banished, and I will aid you in ending this exile."

Thor's words were so formal and heartfelt that I couldn't help but smile a little.

"Thank you, that really does mean a lot," I said as I sat up on the bed. A strange look came over Thor's face as he took in my attire for the night. I was about to ask why, when I realized what colors I had chosen.

_Oh._

I didn't think I was supposed to tell Thor outright that his brother was alive and well, ready to kill people on Earth, but I couldn't just let him be in pain mourning his brother right after he had just comforted me and promised to send me home. I'd have to be stealthy in maneuvering around this information.

"Hey, don't worry about him. We both saw him fall into the wormhole, but didn't you do the same thing?"

Thor looked up at me, ready to ask again how I knew so much about his past actions, but I waved him off.

"I know your brother let go of his own accord, but really, he could still be saved. He really could be, and he might be alive still. You fell through and survived, maybe he's out there still, somewhere in the universe." Of course, I knew exactly where he was. In the SHIELD base, corrupting Agent Barton and stealing the Tesseract. But no one knew that but me. It was a surreal feeling to know something this important and not be able to tell anyone or even do anything.

_This is how clairvoyants feel all the time, I guess._

Thor nodded and smiled at my "logic". "Your words comfort me, thank you. And now, we shall face the kingdom in a feast!"

He extended his arm to me, and I took it at the same time as a smile broke out on my face. The two of us entered into the hall not too long after it had started, though everyone turned their attention immediately to the future king of Asgard as they stood out of their seats. Thor smiled and waved them back down. He led me over to where he was sitting with his father at a higher table than the rest. It was pretty insane to think that I was eating at the same table as Odin. Freaking Odin!

I could feel some people staring at me in the hall; after all, I'd been avoiding most of them for the past few weeks, and it was conceivable that some had never seen me or even heard that I was here.

A woman stood and voiced the question that all of those under that category were thinking.

"Thor, who is this?"

Thor stood and motioned for me to do the same. I rolled my eyes but complied.

"The woman who stands before you now is Lady Valencia, our honored guest and good friend. She is mortal, and was sent to Asgard in a strange and unknown phenomenon that can be studied as we live our lives without the use of the Bifrost." Thor had a sharp look in his eye that I was pretty sure was unnecessary as he finished by saying, "She is to be respected as you would respect my father or myself." He sat down, and as he did, the staring ceased and I felt a little less pressure about coming here. One thing from Thor's short speech stuck out in my mind.

"You're going to study how I got here?" I asked, confused.

Thor had a mischievous look on his face. "I may. I needed to tell them something as to why you are here. Not everyone in this kingdom looks on the mortals as kindly as I do."

I took those words as a gentle warning, and then promptly put them into the back of my mind. I'd worry about what everyone thought of my being here later. Maybe I'd even figure out a way to get home to Em and Pandora later. For now, I was just going to enjoy the heavenly food and the fact that I had at least one true friend in this realm.

**To check out other adventures of Emerald, Val and Pandora…**

If I Never Knew You - Zenappa  
*A Pirates of the Caribbean Fangirl fic*

What If - Zenappa  
*A Disney Fangirl fic*

A World of a Difference - Aranelle Caladwen  
*A Sherlock Holmes Fangirl fic*

Unexpected Twists - Vanya Caladwen  
*A Thor Fangirl fic*


	6. Learning the Basics

_Hey guys, I'm terribly sorry for the long wait. It's me Aranelle and yes I'm not dead. Zenna and Vanya have been pestering me since like August to write this chapter so it's written :) Yay. I don't want to pester you guys with excuses but I had pneumonia for the longest time which sucked and then right around the holidays, I slipped and cut my finger on a metal disk in my room. It stripped the skin down to the bone and I had to get 7 stitches. So my life has been going ggrrreeeaatttt… A special thank you to Zenna for helping me write this and Vanya for betaing! Enjoy! OH AND REVIEW WE LOVE REVIEWS._

**Predetermined Fate**

**Learning the Basics**

I wasn't the brightest person ever, which much was true. And I wasn't necessarily the most patient person either. Needless to say, I became bored easily. I don't know why it happens, it simply does, and it bothers the others around me. But frankly, I don't blame them… It annoys even me. It's not a good trait to have nonetheless. I tried my hardest not to complain or whine, but sometimes I just can't help myself. I'm simply a bothersome annoying person. Did I mention cute too?

You would think being in a new city in a new time period would excite me and keep me entertained for months on end, but it just… didn't. I don't know what to say beyond that. Not even the company kept me interested anymore. It was actually rather frustrating to me because, basically, I just couldn't help it.

It has been two months since I fell into this alternate universe. Two of the longest freaking months of my entire life. Literally. They were passing by so slowly that I thought I wasn't breathing at times. It was bad. I wasn't exactly sure where Em or Val were or what time period they were in or whatever but I knew that somehow, hopefully, they would find their way back to me. After all, the Avengers movie began in New York. I wasn't precisely looking forward to the destruction and complications that would arise from the start of the movie with us included this time in this different world… But I certainly wasn't about to live another day without seeing my best friends again. At least I had Steve, well sort of.

The one and only Captain America wasn't much help. You would think, going through the same situation of magically changing time periods in what seemed like a matter of seconds. But, unfortunately, he seemed to be taking it a lot worse than I was, strangely. Director Fury had hooked us up with an apartment overlooking 42nd Street, and we had barely left since he showed the place to us. The apartment was rather nice as a matter of fact… I wasn't complaining, for once. Between the two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen and two living areas, I would say that we were pretty well off. I would never admit that to Fury of course; it was purely a pride thing. I wanted to go out and see the sights of New York as they looked in this alternate universe in the summer of 2010, which I discovered was when I was plopped into this world.

I had arrived in June as a matter of fact, making sense of the sun and the rain of the city. It was now August, and I still felt the same. Was that strange? I mean, the time wasn't passing as quickly as I had hoped but there was still something missing. I was hoping it meant that I would get to see Em and Val soon… I missed them so much.

Today, I had acknowledged, was going to be the day where I would get Steve around the modern world. Even though it was two years prior for me, since I lived in 2012, I still knew all of the technology that Steve didn't. I could help him, and I had been offering since June, but still he denied me every time. But I had convinced myself that today was going to be the day. I had only left the apartment to get food, and that was only the times when agents of SHIELD didn't visit us with a bag of goodies. Well, mostly just one agent.

Agent Phil Coulson.

He was a lot cuter in person, I must admit, and not in the attractive category. He still hadn't met Steve yet, which was a disappointment for the both of us, but Phil and I had some pretty nice chats over pizza or whatever he decided to bring. Steve refused to speak to anyone but me, and when he did talk to me, they were one word non-decisive answers. So the American Captain was getting nowhere with life…

Still, I stayed with him in our shared apartment even though we barely saw each other. Come to think of it, why did I stay? Oh right, who freaking wouldn't? Our only saving grace was when he gave me shooting lessons once a week down at the abandoned warehouse on 38th Street. Other than that, mum was the word.

Phil, on the other hand, was an open book. I pretty much knew his entire life by now… I even confessed to him the truth about what I was doing here. Fury wasn't around or else I knew he would be after me with the questioning and interrogations as we speak. So we were stuck with Phil, not that it was a bad thing. Obviously, I didn't tell him the _entire_ truth… I didn't even know the entire truth. I probably wasn't even much help… I told him I had passed out at a movie theater, probably got taken to a hospital down the street and when I had tried to escape, I ran into Steve. So technically, everything was my fault. Naturally.

Today, though, was going to be different. I woke up with a feeling of conviction, and I simply knew that today was going to be the day. I leapt out of bed, throwing on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt that I wasn't even sure matched, and slowly opened the door to Steve's bedroom.

"Steve?" I whispered, checking to see if he was still sleeping. He wasn't.

He turned around from doing his daily morning routine, which involved mostly work out techniques and him punching random things around the room. "Pandora?" he raised his eyebrow in surprise.

I didn't usually bother him unless there was an emergency like when the food was gone, in which case he would give me some money from the safe that Fury had set him up with and I would head out to the local market or whatever was closest… or not. It depended on my mood. But today was different.

"Come on Steve," I said, smiling. "We're getting you out today."

He still had the look of surprise on his face, and I had to suppress a grin at the look of it. "What?" he questioned.

I nodded again, "Come on Captain, you're getting a lesson."

Steve frowned at me, and now it was getting old and annoying. I didn't care if I had to drag him outside in nothing but his trousers; he was leaving that dang apartment. I took his hand, not caring how sweaty he was at the moment, and to be completely honest, I wasn't thinking about the fact that I was holding hands with one of the hottest men alive.

I gave him another look. "Steve," I said, my voice growing deeper. "Steve, we're going."

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea," trailed off Steve, looking down at the ground. "I'm not exactly familiar with the going ons around here."

I rolled my eyes, "You'll catch on quickly. I promise."

I let go of his hand quickly, sighing and sauntering out the door, hoping that he would follow me out. No, I couldn't think like that. He was going to follow me out. That was more like it. I paused by the doorway and then suppressed a grin when I heard the sound of footsteps behind me. I spun around on the spot, drinking in the sight of the one and only Steve Rogers lumbering after me. He had thrown on his usual early nineties-looking outfit, and I set a mental reminder to myself to introduce him to more modern clothes. He gave me a quick nod, not meeting my eyes, and I opened the door to the hallway of the apartment building. Somehow, I was going to make him see.

We stopped in front of the building, taking in the sights of the "new" New York City. Steve let out a held breath that he seemed to be holding in, and I blinked a few times myself.

He coughed, interrupting my thoughts, "So Miss Whitman, where to first?"

"Ummm, probably to get a cell phone," I stammered.

Steve raised an eyebrow, "I do not need to carry around a phone with me. What if there is no plug to the wall outlets?"

"You have a lot to catch up on," I laughed. "But don't worry, I have faith in you." I nudged Steve in the side, trying to lighten the awkward moment we had settled ourselves into. "Besides, you have a wonderful helper."

He forced a grin and I heaved another sigh. Strike two. This had to turn better, or else my plan would become an epic fail. I frowned, trying to get my bearings of the city. I still wasn't sure where everything was. I pulled out my iPhone, typed in the Apple store, and hit Directions. Steve peered over my shoulder curiously. _Oh sure, now he's curious…_

As the map pulled up, Steve's frown grew deeper. "What are you doing?" he questioned.

I smirked, "Intrigued yet? This is my cell phone."

"Your… cellular device? I don't recall what that is."

I paused, not exactly sure how to explain it. When were cell phones invented again? 1956 or something like that? "Sort of like a radio," I offered.

He frowned, "I remember radios being…. bigger."

"They were, well, improved."

Steve nodded, looking slightly more interested than before. "Can - can I get one of those?" he asked.

I smirked, starting to walk in the direction of the famous Apple store cube near Central Park. Steve had no choice but to follow me.

"Where are we going?" called the soldier from behind me.

I glanced over my shoulder, "You said you wanted a cell phone, right?"

He nodded curiously, still not completely understanding. I shrugged, continuing on. But unfortunately, we didn't get far. I cursed myself for not realizing this fact earlier… his darn popular identity. I heard a shout and then a grumble from the captain, turning my head once more.

"Hey Captain America! Over here!"

"Steve, look here!"

"Mr. Rogers!"

I sighed, half hoping that I was imagining the entire thing. I saw reporters with their huge big ass cameras surrounding Steve so much that I couldn't even see his blond hair anymore. I rolled my eyes. I hated reporters with a burning passion, especially that bitch Christine Everhart from Iron Man. Although I'm pretty sure Em hated her the most… Thinking on my friend made me hesitate for a minute. I wondered how they were doing, wherever they were, and if they had found a ride to New York when the movie started. No matter what happened to me, no matter what happened here, I needed to see them again.

I took a deep breath and plunged into the thick crowding area, in the middle of the sidewalk no less. And if you know anything about New York City whatsoever, that's a big no. I pushed the reporters away from Steve.

"Hey!" I shouted, drawing the attention to myself. "Leave the poor man alone!"

"And who the hell are you?" came the annoying high-pitched response from some bimbo blonde. "Steve's girlfriend? A lover perhaps?"

I rolled my eyes, "Oh please, I'm merely a friend helping him out."

"Helping him out in what ways?" asked another woman reporter. "Like giving him 'special attention?' Sharing his bed?"

"Do you people always look for a story?" I said, narrowing my eyes. "You're pathetic, disgusting and shameful. I'm taking Steve out to buy a cell phone if you really must know. And that is it." I shoved Steve out of the crowd, taking his hand and running away from the cameras.

God, they were so annoying.

We collapsed around the ground - er, I did… Steve just stood there looking all perfectly fine from being so fit. He raised an eyebrow at me, and I did the same back. We were both such opposites, it was hysterical.

"I suppose I should thank you for that," Steve said in his normal monotone sounding voice.

I nodded, catching my breath. "Don't be surprised when they print a story about you and me in a few days that is completely bogus," I said.

"It's always nice to know some things haven't changed," said Steve, forcing another smile for the day.

Strike two… or was it three? I had already lost count. Not a great start at all… I stood up from where I had sunken down on the street corner and shook out my short red hair from its ponytail.

"Forget about them," I murmured, half trying to convince myself that I wasn't in as deep shit as I actually was. "We're going shopping."

I smirked and headed off in the direction of the Apple cube. I looked over my shoulder to see Steve trailing after me, still taking in all of the sights of the New York that was unfamiliar to him.

"Come on Ice Princess," I said with a lighthearted tone. "Do you want to do this or not?"

He slowly nodded and picked up his pace after me. I smiled, knowing that I had done my good for today. Today was going to change everything, I just didn't know at the time how badly it was going to change.

I noticed on our way a vendor that was selling hats. I reached into my pocket to grab a few dollars to pay for one for Steve, he desperately needed one to save his identity, and found nothing there. Damn, I must have left it at home. I closed my eyes, not wanting to do what I was about to do. But hey, I didn't even belong here. What happens now stays here, right? I needed to live life anyway.

When the vendor wasn't looking, I sneakily swiped a ski hat and walked briskly away. Steve was still standing where I had left him, staring at the tall skyscrapers like there was going to be a change in the atmosphere any minute. Frankly, that's how I felt. Who knew when Loki was going to show up? I had lost track of time completely. When did the movie start again? I knew Em would know but sadly, she wasn't here to help. I wordlessly handed off the hat to Steve without looking over my shoulder, and he gave me a funny look as if he knew what I had done. Well, I wasn't about to admit it if that's what he wanted. He nodded once when I didn't say anything and placed it on his head. I almost choked on my own spit when I saw him in the hat… should have gotten him a ball cap…

We entered the area where the Apple cube was, and yet all Steve could look at was the FAO Schwartz toy store building. I raised an eyebrow in his direction but he still didn't notice. He kept staring at it like a lost puppy.

"I-I remember that," he stammered, cocking his head to one side. "I cannot believe it is still there."

"Better believe it buster," I smirked. "Some things just don't change no matter how old they become." I gave Steve another smile, "And sometimes those are the best kind."

He nodded once, hearing my words. I slowly started to journey in the direction of the Apple store once more, leaving the captain no choice but to follow. We clambered into the elevator and headed downstairs; I could tell how uncomfortable Steve was feeling but there was nothing I could do about it. We exited into the main showing room, and I gestured for him to follow me into the back.

"Try and blend in okay?" I smirked, gesturing to his outfit. This whole man just screamed look at me. There was no way around it, however, we were doomed from the start. I wandered over to the iPhone section where they had just produced the iPhone 3GS. I almost laughed, I had better not bring mine out in public then, mine was the iPhone 4 and it hadn't even been invented yet in this time period. Damn. I shook my head, gesturing Steve over. He ambled over on his own time, still getting used to everything around here.

"This is an iPhone, the most advanced type of phone," I began explaining, hoping not to attract much attention. "It's what I have and what you were admiring earlier, and it -"

Steve cut me off, "My apologies Miss Whitman. But I do not need the most advanced technology, I just need your standard cellular device."

I smirked, "Sorry Cap, they don't really sell flip phones around here anymore."

He frowned, "Flip phones?"

"Never mind," I resisted the urge to face palm. This man was more hopeless than I originally thought. I had to give him lessons, or something of that fact. He needed help. "At least buy a computer," I urged.

"Now a computer I know how to work," he smiled. I nodded, not exactly telling him how much more advanced his "computers" are now a days. I would let him figure that out on his own.

I guided him over to the Mac computers and let him wander around. Meanwhile, I was starting to worry about pricing. Stealing a hat was one thing, but a computer? There was no way I could pull that one off. I had only hoped that Steve had brought Fury's credit card that he provided the soldier with. After a few minutes or so, I headed over in the captain's direction to make sure he wasn't completely lost.

"I like this one," he pointed to the newest edition of the Mac laptop. I rolled my eyes, he would pick the most expensive one. "It seems the newest and best," he added as an explanation. "I do not know the workings around here though, is it a good choice?"

"You would," I muttered under my breath before speaking up, plastering yet another smile across my face. "It's fine," I said louder. "You did bring the credit card right?"

"The what?"

I sighed, not answering. Steve dug through his pockets and emerged with a set of keys to the apartment and a wad of money and cards. I took the stack of cards from him and sorted through them until I found the one that Fury had given us. This was the one directly linked to the bank account he set up for us. I headed over to the cash register, explaining to the guy on duty which computer we wished to purchase.

"Do we have enough cards?" Steve whispered in my ear and I resisted a chuckle. Now that the solider had opened up to me and hopefully begun to trust me, he was kinda cute in a hopeless likeable type of situation. I wasn't attracted to him in a love scenario, yet. I wasn't sure how everything was going to play out in the future but I was glad to have a friend now. And that was all that mattered.

I smirked, "Yes, we're alright." I didn't need to share with him that I wasn't paying in cards, just a single card that led to more cash, and I didn't share exactly how much money Fury had left us with. A hundred thousand dollars was enough to support us for a lifetime… maybe… plus inflation. It was hard enough for me to wrap my head around, let alone Steve's world where milk cost fifty cents and movie tickets were a quarter. I silently handed the Apple worker the card, and we boarded the elevator with our brand new computer, heading back into the world of New York City once more.

I spied another vendor in the distance and handed the computer box off to Steve, ambling over to the market. I smiled at the vendor, still clutching the credit card in my palm. I handed it off to him, asking for a pre-paid phone and he handed me, to my surprise, the oldest flip phone I had seen in a long time. I laughed at the irony, thanked him, and left with the credit card to find Steve once more.

I tossed the phone in his direction and he caught it with ease. He didn't even drop the computer to my relief and surprise. I took the Apple box back from him and gave him another smile.

"Oldest phone I could find," I smirked. "Easy enough to figure out."

Easier said than done, I supposed, as Steve proceeded to flip open the phone and stare at it curiously. Once again, hopeless. I rolled my eyes, placing the Apple box down on a nearby bench and taking a seat next to it.

Steve instantly claimed the seat next to me and offered me the phone like a lost child. I had to smile at the sight. This might take a while for the captain to learn, but if I had anything to do with it, he would learn all the tricks and trades to being a modern day man. By the time I was done with him, Steve Rogers would be a new man.


	7. The Basic Truth

HELLO WORLD. It's Zenna in case you didn't realize… I once again apologize for our delay so I decided to reward you with TWO chapters in one day. Would you look at that, it's a Christmas miracle. Anyway, please please please let us know what you're thinking of this story. I'm having an absolute blast writing it and I can't wait to hear what you think (but no flames because that would be sad :(). SO REVIEW. OR ELSE. A special thanks to my wonderful betas, Vanya and A Pirate By Any Other Name, and I don't own Avengers sadly. ENJOY. I LOVE YOU ALL.

**Predetermined Fate**

**Chapter 7: The Basic Truth**

As I sat across the table from two of the most esteemed people in the Marvel universe, I must admit I was a little intimidated. If Director Nick Fury, the same director who runs the entire SHIELD department and can kill people from a mile away, was staring you down, wouldn't you too? I sighed, rubbing my forehead. What situation had I got myself into again? _Oh right, you basically told them you knew about the Avengers Initiative. What a great idea Emerald_! I thought sarcastically. _Why don't you tell them that you're from another parallel universe or the future while you're at it? _I shook my head, jerking myself out of my thoughts.

"I'm waiting," Fury snapped, clearly impatient.

It also wasn't helping that Tony Stark, my favorite Marvel character ever, was sitting to my right. It wasn't intimidating like Fury was but it was downright nerve-wracking! I didn't want to screw things up yet again.

"Miss Maitland," Fury bellowed again and I swallowed slowly, "I am still waiting to hear how exactly you know about the Avenger Initiative."

I rolled my eyes and dropped my hands on the table, making a loud banging noise. "Does it really matter?" I questioned. "I just do."

Tony chuckled, "That sounds like an answer I would give. Are you sure we aren't related, kid?"

"Positive," I said. "Trust me, I would know." I turned back to Fury, "True, I haven't exactly told you everything but what I told you so far is the truth."

Fury narrowed his eye, "I don't believe you."

I threw my hands up in the air and leaned back in my chair. Of course he didn't, how much more of this night could I take? I wasn't exactly sure how long it was going to be.

"What's wrong with her story?" my head snapped back up. Why was Tony defending me? He knew absolutely nothing about me! I frowned, rubbing the sides of my head. This was a load of bullshit.

Fury equaled my frown perfectly, "How the hell can she get all the way across the country without her knowing? It's just not done."

I shrugged, sticking to my story. No matter how many times I said it, the director was simply never going to believe me. Unless... I shook my head, that was a risk but it could work. At the very least, it would get their attention.

"Consultant," I blurted out and the two male figures in the room swiveled around to face me once more.

"Pardon?" Tony raised an eyebrow but I didn't pay much focus to him. I was zeroed in on Fury whose eye had gone wide and his eyebrows had skyrocketed to the top of his forehead.

"How the hell would you know that?" he spoke quietly, as if almost to himself. I leaned forward in the table, "I told you, I'm telling the truth."

While the director still didn't look convinced, I knew I had shaken him. That was a start at least. Tony still looked around like I had grown an extra head, but then again not much was new there. "Consultant?" he asked. "What does that mean?"

I turned to face the billionaire, "Remember about a year ago when you first met Nick?"

"That's Director Fury to you," Fury corrected me but I ignored him. He was getting on my nerves now...

Tony nodded warily and I continued, "He told you about not being the only superhero in the world. You were certainly one of the first in your era, yes but there's plenty more before you and after you."

"Skip the gory details, Em," he said, pursing his lips together. I raised an eyebrow, since when he did know me well enough to call me Em? Only my closest friends called me that. Whatever. I honestly didn't even care anymore.

I shrugged, "Well Fury's here to talk to you about said idea, called the Avenger Initiative. However, he believes you are volatile, self-obsessed and don't play well with others, this said from Fury himself from Agent Romanoff's reports. So he doesn't want you to join the team, but he needs you as a consultant because you're still valuable."

Tony's face dropped and he glared at Fury, "Is this right?"

"Down to a tee," the director looked suspiciously in my direction. Thank God my Avenger knowledge came in handy... I knew all those times I watched Marvel movies would pay off someday. "Who exactly are you, Miss Maitland, if that is your name?"

I too glared at the man sitting across from me, "It is."

"Then where are you from?" Fury pursued his interrogation. "What do you want from us? Who are you working for? Finding Stark was no accident, was it?"

I held up my hands. This was way too many questions at once, I could tell the director was getting impatient and wearing thin. I had to speed things up if I wanted to remain on good terms. "Slow down there before you send yourself into cardiac arrest!" I complained. "My name is Emerald Maitland and I'm from New York City like I said before. Like I said, everything I told you before was the truth." I paused, letting my words sink in.

All I could do was pray to whoever was watching that I got the power to think fast and lie on my feet. I admit, I was a little queasy at first, attempting to lie to the director of SHIELD was probably a huge mistake, but I got over it. This plan had to work.

"Moving on," I swept forwards with my speech. "What do I want from you? I don't know. I honestly have no idea what I'm doing here. I know I'm here for a reason but I just haven't figured it out yet."

Tony shrugged, "Seems legit," and I wondered once more why the billionaire was sticking up for me.

"That means nothing," Fury interjected. "Last time you said that, the coffee I ordered tasted like penguin shit."

"Why do you know what penguin shit tastes like?" Tony wondered out loud, earning another glare from Fury. I stifled a chuckle and he winked at me so quickly that I thought I missed it.

I took that as my cue to continue. "I work for the Council," I just decided to put that one out there. Sure enough, Fury's attention was narrowed on me once more. I smiled, perfect.

"That's impossible," Fury protested and I smirked. "Nothing's impossible Director Fury," I said. "You, of all people, should know that."

Tony frowned and looked between the two of us, "I'm feeling like a third wheel here."

"Sorry," I apologized to the billionaire before turning back to Fury. I needed to get it through his head that I was not someone to mess with. "Yes, I'm an assistant to the Council. That's why I know all of your moves and secrets."

"I still don't believe you," Fury interrupted me from continuing. "But you're getting closer to the truth."

"It makes sense doesn't it?" I felt like punching the table or the wall or (better yet) Fury himself. Why wasn't anyone listening to me today?

The director gave a small nod, "I'll run my background checks but I'm still not convinced."

"Seems -" Tony started to say, but Fury talked over him yet again, commenting, "What did I say before?"

"You enjoy the taste of penguin poop?"

I laughed out loud this time and both men faced me once more. I shrank under their glares and apologized under my breath.

"Miss Maitland," Fury said as calmly as he could, which wasn't very. "I'd like a word with Mr. Penguin Poop over here."

I nodded, understanding his meaning, and exited from the room. I didn't know why he kicked me out, he was only going to explain to Tony what I already knew, so why couldn't I stay?

"Everything okay?" came a soft gentler voice from the other side of me and I jumped.

Turning around, holding a hand to my heart, I realized that it was only Pepper. I stepped backwards, my chest rising and falling rather rapidly. "Jesus Pepper!" I exclaimed. "You scared me!"

Pepper frowned, "How do you know my name?"

Shit. I had forgotten about that. I shrugged like it was no big deal. "It's a long complicated story," I said but I could see the assistant wasn't going to let up on this one.

"I've got time," she responded, crossing her arms over her chest. She paused before stating, "You work for SHIELD don't you?"

Damn.

"Well no," I began slowly, "but you're not totally off. I work for the Council, well I did."

Pepper frowned once more, "What's the Council?"

"Sort of like a Board of Directors," I explained. "Fury's a part of it and so are major heads of all the other government sections. I was an assistant."

"You keep saying 'was,'" the red-haired assistant pointed out. "Are you not anymore?"

I gave a dramatic sigh, "I'm not a spy Pepper, I knew your name because everyone knows your name. I think I got fired because I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing here. But I'm going to do my damned hardest to find out."

I think I confused poor Pepper for the frown wrinkling her forehead grew deeper. I didn't have time to elaborate however, for Tony burst angrily out of the room. His eyes brightened as he saw the two of us conversing.

"I see you two have met," he smirked.

Pepper loosened her frown, "Not formally. We had a lovely chat though." She put the emphasis on 'lovely' and I winced. I don't think we got off to a good start.

I held my hand for the CEO to take, "I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you my name. I'm Emerald Maitland." Pepper shook my head slowly like I turned into a different person in the last minute or so.

Tony turned back to me and simply said, "Fury wants to speak with you." I nodded and made my way back into the other room. I hoped it was nothing bad and I wasn't about to be kidnapped or worse killed. I shivered and quickly opened the door back to the room without another glance over my shoulder.

Fury was still sitting in the same spot, drumming his fingers impatiently on the table. "Glad you could join us," he snapped as I entered.

I rolled my eyes, "Come on Nicky, relax a bit. What did you need?"

"Let's say I believed your wacked story," he said cautiously. "What next?"

I paused, not believing my ears. Had he just said he believed me? What was the world coming to? I opened my mouth to say something but the director cut me off again.

"Are you a spy Miss Maitland?" he asked me out of the blue. I shook my head violently, "No sir."

"Then what are you doing here, really?"

I sighed, I would have to tell him the same lie I told Pepper. I needed to get my story straight. "I was fired, I think," I began. "I remember talking to the Council in New York City, I believe, and then everything went black. When I woke up, I was here."

He nodded, understanding a bit more. "The Council doesn't like to leave loose ends," he said begrudgingly.

I almost gaped in shock. I couldn't believe he bought that! I bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself from laughing in relief.

"Would you like to do me a favor Miss Maitland?" Fury questioned, leaning forward in his chair.

That caught my attention for sure. I raised an eyebrow, "Like what exactly?"

"How would you like to spy on Mr. Stark?"

It took me a minute to comprehend what he was saying. _He actually believed me? He wanted me to join him_? I shook my head, "Director Fury, I'm flattered, I really am. I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean."

"It's easy enough to understand," he repeated. "I need you to give me information on Tony Stark, the Iron Man."

I frowned, "I'm not sure I can do that. Isn't that what you have Agent Romanoff for?"

Fury narrowed his eyes, and I wondered just how much he actually knew about me. For the first time that day, I felt nervous. I bit my lip in apprehension; what would he do to me if he knew I was lying? "You should know," came his eventual answer. I opened my mouth to say something but the director swept on, sending relief washing over my body.

"Stark discovered Agent Romanoff's true identity. In her own words, she was compromised. Stark no longer trusts her and we need someone else. You'd be the last person he'd expect."

"Exactly!" I protested. "I can't betray him like that."

Fury shook his head, "You don't even know him."

I raised an eyebrow. "And I know you better?" I retorted, getting angry now. "Why am I trusting any word you say?"

"Because I'm trusting you."

Those words stopped me dead. My whole body felt cold and numb, and I fought to catch my breath. He... trusted me? Why should he? Things weren't exactly adding up here. I was going to get to the bottom of this even if it was the last thing I did. For the first time that day, I barely thought about my missing friends. I knew where Pandora was and I could only hope that she was safe. Val was a strong girl too, she could take care of herself... I hoped. I couldn't afford to think like that, however.

"Why?" I questioned, my forehead wrinkling. "Why would you trust me?"

"Because I don't think you're lying."

Crap. I was better than I thought. Suddenly, I didn't really know what to do anymore. I took a deep breath and hoped to God that whatever I did was the right choice.

"I'm not going to become one of your bitches," I changed the subject. I looked back into his eye, resuming our previous stare down. He nodded slowly, accepting the jab if it meant I was going to oblige. I couldn't let him find out any more than he already knew...

"Fine," he said. "You don't have to join SHIELD."

I smiled, "Good." I paused for a moment before holding up a finger and continuing. I had a couple more requests to make. "I want a catsuit."

Fury looked surprised, and I almost burst out laughing. "Okay," he answered slowly.

"A brown one!" I interrupted again. "Maria's got navy blue and Natasha has black. I want to be different."

I loved how Fury didn't even question how I knew so much anymore. He nodded reluctantly.

"Fine. You work for yourself and you have a brown catsuit. Anything else?"

I put a finger to my chin, pondering a bit more. What else could I ask for? I smirked. "Tony can never find out about this," I added. "This meeting never happened."

"Agreed," Fury put in. "I also want you to be a part of the Avenger Initiative since you know so much."

This time, it was my turn to narrow my eyes. "Meaning?" I prompted.

"You already know we're thinking about Rodgers and Banner to be a part of the team and Stark for a consultant," Fury started and I nodded. I could put two and two together.

"But where do I fit in?" I asked.

Fury continued, "I - we - need you to be on call. You say you know things and yet you're not telling us much. We will find you Miss Maitland, mark my words."

I raised an eyebrow, "We'll see."

"So do you accept?" he changed the subject like I had earlier. I gave a tiny side smile, knowing that things had gone my way once again.

I stood up, offering my hand to the one-eyed director. "Well, Director Fury," I said. "You may have gotten yourself a deal."


	8. Changes

_Author's Note:_ **Hi everyone, Vanya here! This chapter has **_**finally **_**gotten finished, I struggled quite a bit with finding the voice for this. Combine that with a genuine overload of school work, and that explains the long wait. I have to thank the lovely Zenappa for beta reading this chapter, as always, as well as rewriting a particular section of this chapter that I really was struggling with for most of the time. I considered using what I had written, but her rewrite is better. I've decided to go with the version of that section that will read better, and I owe her that! Here it is!**

To check out other adventures of Emerald, Val and Pandora…

If I Never Knew You - Zenappa  
*A Pirates of the Caribbean Fangirl fic*

What If - Zenappa  
*A Disney Fangirl fic*

A World of a Difference - Aranelle Caladwen  
*A Sherlock Holmes Fangirl fic*

Unexpected Twists - Vanya Caladwen  
*A Thor Fangirl fic*

_Playlist: _Can You See Jane? – Thor soundtrack, A Promise – The Avengers soundtrack, Over the Misty Mountains Cold – Peter Hollens (cover)

_Disclaimer: _Valencia is my own character, Emerald and Pandora belong to Zenappa and Aranelle respectively, and Marvel owns everything else!

**Predetermined Fate**

**Chapter 8: Changes**

The time I had spent on Asgard was basically just a giant party. Day in, day out, all I did was eat food and talk to people. I even indulged in some of their wines, but it was mostly to be nice. I only sipped; I wasn't getting drunk, of course! This was coming from the girl who couldn't even swallow a coke, let alone mead or wine! The food, however, was the finest cooking that I had ever tasted. It was endless!

"It really sucks to be Em and Panda right now, wherever they are. I definitely win, as far as places to be stranded go," I said to myself. That was something I had been doing a lot of these days, talking to myself. Although everyone in the godly city was eager to speak to the "strange mortal", it was just small talk. I had no real friends, save Thor and maybe Fandral, but being high ranking gods in the society of Asgard, they were too often taken from me by their duties. I had to be content with having myself as a best friend. Did that make me crazy? Ah, whatever.

I was sitting on a balcony in my room which overlooked some lovely gardens down below. I had frequented the gardens on occasion, but I was content to just look for now. There was a fountain in the middle, a huge golden structure with water spraying out of it in beautiful rings and patterns. I sighed. The fountain reminded me of the one thing I really missed about Earth- the ocean. I lived in New York, but not in the city. I lived in a quiet section just off of the Atlantic Ocean, on private property. I had a beach house there that was intended to be a summer home, but I had used it year round before moving off to college. It was where I stayed whenever I returned to the city and was where I had spent mostly all of my summers with Em and Pandora. I desperately missed the ocean, the beach.

I noticed a messenger riding down the surface of the Bifrost as one did every day here. They always rode down early in the morning and gathered the reports from Heimdall who was steadfast in his guarding of Asgard. Though the connection with all other realms had been lost, he still stood at the edge of the broken bridge constantly ready to defend his king. Rarely did he have news to report, so I settled back into the stone of the balcony wall and continued enjoying the beauty of the gardens.

When more horses exited the palace to gallop down the Bifrost, I raised an eyebrow and focused on them. They were very far down, but I could tell that there were five of them. I assumed that it was the warriors three, Sif, and Thor. If they were being called out to the bridge then it was news indeed. I almost fell off of the balcony when another horse exited, this one larger and faster than the rest.

_Odin__._

If Odin had been called, something was seriously wrong. I got to my feet and rushed into my quarters. My bare feet were chilled by the floor, so I grabbed a pair of silver strapped sandals and quickly laced them on my feet. I hurried out the door into the hall and began running down to the main level. The flowy material of my black dress whipped around my legs as I ran. I drew glances from people walking about, but I didn't care. This was important.

When I reached the bottom of the great stairs and began to turn to the large doors that led out of the palace, I stopped and thought about how I was going to manage to run all that way. I turned again and ran to where there were horses penned up through an off shooting corridor through the main foyer. There was no one there looking after them, so I swung myself onto a chestnut colored one and dug my heels into its sides. The horse, being of the well trained kind in Asgard, shot off towards the Bifrost as I had directed it. I had learned to ride during my stay here, and though I was not a huge fan of the pastime, I couldn't argue against it being the fastest way to get around.

The horse's hooves formed a quick pattern as they hit the hard surface of the "rainbow bridge." The timing of the beats soon matched the beating of my heart as I was already assuming the worst. I reached the edge of the bridge and stopped the horse by gently pulling back on its mane, and I stopped next to Thor. He glanced down at me as I dismounted but didn't say anything. Odin was speaking.

"So you're saying that you've called us down here for no reason other than to tell us that you think something is strange?" The tone of Odin's voice was measured and it sounded like he was losing his patience. I didn't know for how long the questioning had been going on before I had arrived but this was not the first question asked, I could tell that for sure. Heimdall nodded slowly and replied in his deep voice.

"Yes. I do not know what it is that I sense, it is shrouded from me. There is something wrong down on Midgard."

Thor sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose with two fingers and I perked up. Heimdall glanced at me quickly and returned his gaze to Odin. It did not go unnoticed. Fandral placed a hand on his sword and stepped forward.

"Are you implying that Lady Valencia is the cause for this?" he asked. He made no attempt at subtlety in his implied threat.

Heimdall shook his head to indicate no and said, "I imply no such thing. I only thought of her because she is from that realm."

I stepped forward to be a little closer to the god and asked, "I'm sorry, but can you tell me exactly what you're seeing? Or, anything at all, if you're not seeing anything." He closed his eyes and tilted his head up to the sky.

"I felt a great disturbance on the surface. There is always war and suffering on your planet, but this was more like a raw explosion. There was pure terror all around, but I could not see. I could not focus my gaze to the spot where this was happening. I do not know what it was, but-"

He stopped abruptly and opened his eyes, then blinked a few times. Odin leaned in. "What is it? Have you felt something else?"

Heimdall opened his mouth as if to say something quickly but then closed it and looked at the king. "No, it is nothing. I am sorry, your majesty. I have told you all I know. I only thought to call you down because though it was a disturbance that may not affect us, I could not see. That troubled me, but I apologize for calling for you."

Thor next to me suddenly turned on his heel and swung himself back onto his steed and galloped away towards the palace. I had not noticed him growing agitated, but it was apparent that Odin had, for when the warriors three made to follow him, he put out a hand to stop them.

"No, let him go. He needs time to ponder this. Remember, he feels a certain… bond to that realm." They nodded and let him go, albeit reluctantly.

I lowered my head to the king and said, "Your majesty, I request to leave as well, perhaps I can help Thor through his thoughts, being of Earth myself?" Odin nodded and swept his hand to signal that I was free to go. I mounted my horse somewhat less gracefully than Thor had and rode after him.

I hadn't caught up to Thor in time to see where in the palace he went, but I quickly found a guard who had seen him storm through the hall that he had been in. I had gotten directions from the man and thanked him before searching out where the god had gone. I recited the directions mentally. _Up three flights, turn left, around the spiraling stairs seven times, and down the right hall. Door on the right._

It took me a long time, but I finally reached the door. There were only two in the hall; it wasn't hard to pick out. I knocked on the door lightly, and the gruff voice came from within.

"It is not wise to bother me now."

I rolled my eyes and pushed open the door anyway. It revealed the big blond standing in the middle of the room looking at the far wall. He turned and said, "Did you not hear what I said?" I smirked.

"No, you were crystal clear, but we both know that wise is a far cry from what I am. I'm here to talk to you."

His face knotted up. "There is nothing to talk about, what would you have me say?" I shook my head and entered the room further.

"I know that there's something bothering you. I know it, don't try to say that there isn't." He was silent after listening to me say this, and I said, "You don't have to be so strong all the time, you know. You can talk to people; don't keep it all to deal with yourself. It might help you more than you know."

He opened his mouth to argue, "I am a god, I can't help but be strong." I shook my head again.

"Not physical strength, you don't have to keep up your mental walls too." He didn't say anything, only looking away from me, rubbing his hands over his hammer in a repetitive motion. I sighed. "Well, I'm no good at one sided conversations, but if you figure something out and want to talk to someone, I'll be here." This didn't merit any response, so I backed out the doorway again and left Thor to his mind.

Three days later and Thor still hadn't emerged from his quarters once. I had had enough. He was a god; he shouldn't be around moping! I paced around my own room, being overall worried. I was worried about him, worried about my friends and even more troubled about what I was going to do. The fact that Thor was mourning his brother and the Earth, both of which I knew quite a lot about, was killing me. I knew that Loki was alive, and I had figured out easily enough that the disturbance that Heimdall had felt was most likely the Tesseract acting up in Selvig's lab. The effort of keeping such a secret from Thor was eating me from the inside out, tearing me up until it felt like there was nothing left.

I had two options.

The first option would to tell Thor the truth about what I knew. Telling him everything would save him a lot of pain, but that would also lead to more trouble down my path. I would be screwing a lot of things up if I did. My second option was to keep quiet and wait however long I needed to until Thor was sent to Earth during the Avengers movie. But could I honestly wait that long? It seemed the first option was looking better and better as time continued to pass. I sighed and looked out the window at the increasingly darker sky. Especially now, my stay here seemed more like a burden and constant stress than what I and the gods on this realm were used to. It was just one worry after another. I frowned to myself as I pondered my choices. To tell or not to tell, it seemed so easy. However, I knew better than that. I put my head in my hands and groaned.

"Maybe it would be better for everything if I just slept the stress out," I whispered to myself, hoping to clear my mind of the matter. I sighed again, realizing how much I was doing that lately. I yanked off the dress I had worn that day and exchanged it for a thin nightgown. Collapsing on the golden sheets of my bed, I shut my eyes and prayed for sleep to overtake me.

Somehow, I knew I was dreaming, but I was struggling to convince myself of this fact. I was looking right at the face of Loki, god of mischief and lies, as he clung to the end of the scepter that I knew Thor would be holding on to, out of my sight. His perfect, in my eyes at least, features were twisted in pain, and then acceptance of defeat as he prepared to let go. This was the hundredth time I'd seen those expressions on his face, and my heart was still ripped to shreds every time I watched it happen. The more surprising part in watching it this time, however, was that right as he let go, our eyes met again as they had when I first witnessed the fall in real life, and in that split second, I was filled with so much pain that I choked and collapsed to the ground. I shut my eyes as tears began to leak out of them and I tried to calm the fire that was racing through my body. I had felt bad for Loki before, but now I knew what it was to feel unwanted. I knew now.

When I next looked up, I was looking at a much younger and much happier god. It was a scene I knew well, of Loki and Thor playing around as children, but it was still a shock to be seeing it with my own eyes through a dream and not through the screen of a television. The young god was laughing and running with his brother, the two of them blissfully in love with the world. The scene switched to reveal that of the grown Loki as I knew him in the Avengers, tearing apart the SHIELD headquarters. The sight I was looking at made me want to crawl away and stop the dream. Seeing the two memories one right after another like that… it was more than just a fangirl feeling bad for her favorite movie character now that I was actually there in the flesh. It was so much more. It was watching a soul shatter into one million fragmented pieces. The cracks placed there in the beginning had grown and spread until he had lost it and broke under the pressure of always being the second best. It was horrible. I turned my eyes away from the sight of Loki shooting blue energy at scientists everywhere in the lab and willed the dream to be over. I willed the darkness to take me over again, and it succumbed to my will this time.

When I woke to a still dark sky, I lay still on the bed sheets for a few minutes before getting up to start the day ridiculously early. Even though it was technically still the night, there was no way that I was going to fall back asleep and risk seeing those horrible scenes over again. I didn't really have anything to do there in my room, so I pulled out one of the endless dresses from the wardrobe and made to put it on. I held it up in front of me and examined it. The material was silky and made from a fabric that looked of a silvery color. I shook my head and put it back where it had come from. I loved the beautiful finery here, but it was all making me feel like I was not doing a thing to help the situation of me being here with Thor and my two best friends being on earth with Loki. Instead, I reached towards the bottom of the structure to where I had been storing clothes that weren't full length gowns. I pulled out a pair of black leggings, made of leather it looked like, and a black shirt that felt like it was made of some cottony material. I pulled these on and slipped some boots on that I had gotten from the armory – they reminded me of a cross between riding boots and combat boots on earth. I then ran a brush through my long blonde hair and put it up in a very functional French braid.

I looked at myself in the mirror and hardly recognized what I saw. A few months ago, if I had looked at my reflection, I would've seen an average girl who loved her friends and just wanted to be happy in the world. Now, I saw a completely different face. For one, I was stronger both mentally and physically – one didn't go through encounters with gods and not become stronger – but I was also harder. That was the part that scared me. Being around so many of the immortal beings that lived in the realm, I was afraid of losing my humanity.

I wrenched my sight away from the mirror and ran out the door and down the hall to a set of side stairs that I had discovered during one of my exploring sessions. It led to where I had stored the weapon that I had been using in my practice, a pretty simple short sword that was the perfect length for my small frame. If I had been taller, I might have been able to use a long sword or one of the powerful bows that were around, but using the larger weapons was too difficult for me. I liked the short sword though, it was often underestimated and was much less noticeable than a two handed broadsword. It was a lot like me, in that respect. Short, underestimated, and not often noticed.

It was that sword that I pulled out of a small chest that I had shoved out of the way in a storage room of the extensive armory. I felt better with it in my hands. That also scared me – did that mean that I was becoming violent? I didn't used to have that feeling. Not before coming to Asgard.

Now that I had the sword, I wasn't sure where to go. I was sick of waiting around for things to just happen, I didn't want to be stuck here in the godly realm while Pandora and Emerald were down on Earth – all logic aside, I simply missed my friends.

I sighed, and said out loud, "Em and Panda, where are you? Has Loki found you yet?" I had taken to talking to myself quite frequently as of late. I tended to worry out loud when I was alone. I slipped down to the ground and sat with my back up against a wall for a long time, lost in my thoughts. I felt like fighting something, even just to yell would be fine, just to do _something._

A faint pounding noise caught me off guard after having sat there on the floor for about twenty minutes. I went to a state of being alert as I recognized the sound of boots on a stone floor. I looked to see one of the palace guards march into the room and stand straight up as he addressed me, "Lady Valencia, you are needed in the hall of Odin, at once."

I raised an eyebrow at this but lifted myself off of the ground with my hands. "Alright, I'm going." The guard made a move to turn and lead me there, but I cut him off by walking a bit faster. "Thanks, but I don't need an escort. I know how to get there," I said. He bowed slightly and left in the opposite direction. With an annoyed shake of my head, I made my way to the familiar throne room.

—

When I arrived, standing before me was Thor, Odin, and another messenger. I opened my mouth to speak, but Odin cut off my words before I had said anything.

"Valencia, child of Midgard, would you like to tell us what you know of the situation on Earth at this moment?"

I frowned, puzzled.

"What do you mean?"

"Well," came the voice of the king of the gods, "I have just received word of something rather strange that you were reported to be concerned about. Heimdall has informed me that you believe my son to be on Earth at this moment?"

I felt as if I had fallen into frozen water, my whole body froze up. No, it was too soon! He couldn't know that! I remembered having wondered out loud about Loki though; it must have been that Heimdall had heard me.

I was in so much shock; I was just now realizing what was happening. I was changing the order of events; there was no telling what was going to happen now.

"No," I gasped, "I can't believe this is happening…"


	9. YOLO

_Author's Note:_ _HEY__ PEOPLE__! I'm back. Teehee. Miss me? Anyway, on to the chapter! Make sure to subscribe to our story. AND REVIEW! FOR EVERY REVIEW WE GET COOKIES. SO REVIEW TO GIVE ARANELLE A COOKIE! :D :D :D _

To check out other adventures of Emerald, Val and Pandora…

If I Never Knew You - Zenappa  
*A Pirates of the Caribbean Fangirl fic*

What If - Zenappa  
*A Disney Fangirl fic*

A World of a Difference - Aranelle Caladwen  
*A Sherlock Holmes Fangirl fic*

_Disclaimer: __I am not the original creator of YOLO or any other modern references in here. Credits to them__. Everything besides the characters of Pandora, Valencia, and Emerald belongs to Marvel!_

**Predetermined Fate**

**Chapter 9: YOLO**

Steve Rogers was easily the most difficult man to teach ANYTHING. He was also the most confused about life. However, if the myth about gaining seven seconds of life from laughter was true, I'd live for an eternity.

I showed him how to call and text on the phone, but of course, being from the 40's, he had to make it a huge process. He couldn't quite grasp the fact that each person who bought a phone was assigned a number to that phone, and that dialing that number will go to that phone, as simple a concept as it is. Despite that, I gave him my number just in case he got lost somewhere, and showed him how to call me.

"All you have to do is type in the number shown here using the buttons and make sure it matches. Then hit the big button that says 'call.' Then you can talk to me."

He practiced a couple times, grinning at his accomplishment every time it came through and we walked back into the city. For the first time in quite a while, I worried about my friends. It wasn't that I didn't care; I just had so much to do with Steve that I forgot about it for a while. I guess that's good to get it off my mind.

Steve walked a few strides behind me, still taking in the sights and sounds of New York. I was completely unfazed by this point and I looked back at him every couple minutes or so to make sure he was following me. He looked like a lost animal and it had been about 3 weeks. I was beginning to wonder if he would ever find his way in this new world. I smiled at him and slowed my pace so we were walking side by side. He stared at the ground in front of him as he walked, and I saw him in a different way than usual. I noticed his cheekbones, high on his face. I noticed the way his hair fell in his face as he looked down, and the shape of his eyes and lips.

_How could I have missed these features before? _I wondered. Now, every time that I looked at him, I couldn't notice anything else. It brought to my mind a saying. "Sometimes, it's the little things in life that have the biggest impact on the world."

He looked at me, and I realized I was still staring. I couldn't take my eyes off him. We slowed to a stop, and he stared right back. For a moment, we almost seemed to connect. We were both new to this world and neither one of us knew where to go or what to do for the time being. He then closed his eyes, sighed, and looked away. I looked away too, wondering what he was thinking about. I started walking again. He did not.

"You remind me so much of Peggy."

I turned around. "What did you say?"

He looked at me with his blue eyes. "You remind me of Peggy. She was my love before my plane crashed in the ocean. Before I was frozen. She was the last one I talked to before I was forgotten under the ice. She gave me a chance. She loved me and I loved her too. It's an impossibly difficult thing to bear."

I nodded. I knew. Well, sort of. In the Captain America movie, the part when he crashed always made me cry and Em would always remind me that he wasn't dead because he was in the Avengers. Then I realized something. Anything I did in this world could affect the outcome of the movies, and ruin my favorite movie's plot, or worse, get me stuck here and unable to come out of it or see Val or Em again. I knew what I needed to do. I needed to find out what happened in between Captain America and The Avengers so that if I was indeed inside the Captain America movie, I could time approximately when events would occur and what they would be.

I whipped out my iPhone, turned 3G service on, and clicked on Safari. I clicked on Google and typed "what happens in between captain america and the avengers." It loaded, and nothing. Every source was blocked or corrupt, and hardly anything showed up in the first place. I Googled "the avengers." Nothing. "how to tie a tie." 34,000,800 results. _I can't Google anything related to Marvel in this world! Either that or it doesn't exist._ I thrust my phone back into my pocket, frustrated, and sat down on a bench. Steve sat next to me. I began to cry, finally accepting the fact that I was stuck here forever.

"Why are you crying?" Steve asked.

"Because I don't belong here and I'm never going to find my way home!" I sobbed. I didn't care that I was crying in front of my ultimate movie character crush, I just wanted to find my friends. Steve patted me on the back.

"You'll find your way. It'll take time, but you'll get there. You have to be hopeful. Without hope, you have nothing. I'm still hoping I'll see Peggy again. Or at least see her grave." He stood up and grabbed my hand, helping me up. I wiped my face with my sleeve and nodded. Steve looked at me.

"What do we do now?" Honestly, I had no idea.

"I don't know, but we better do something quick. We don't want to waste our lives standing here do we? Cause YOLO!" I started to walk away, but Steve stopped me. He had a completely and utterly confused expression.

"What did you say?"

I rolled my eyes. I forgot, he didn't understand references or slang words that came after his time. I explained it as best I could.

"YOLO means You Only Live Once. Like, it's from the song 'The Motto' by Drake. He's a singer. It means, like, live your life to the fullest and don't waste it away." Well, I tried. As expected, my explanation confused him further, and I threw my hands up in defeat. I simply gave up. However, I think he got the part about living life to its fullest because he took off down the street in a swift stride and every person he saw, he yelled "YOLO!" to. I shook my head and laughed. Maybe there was a little hope for him still.

**Reviewers of Chapter 8**

**~Vanya**

THEBATMANIMPOSTER – Thank you so much! Gotta love those Cliffhangers! I hope you read the upcoming chapters to see just what Val's going to do to fix that mess! ;)

ReadPaxJoy – That she did! You'll get to see what Val does to attempt a fix in the next few chapters… or will she just screw up further? Who knows?! :D

AvengerRedHuntress – Thank you! That means a lot! I hope you'll continue to read all of the chapters!


	10. Knowledge and Power

Hello everyone! Zenna here :D I hope you all are enjoying this amazing story that I am so fortunate to be writing with two amazing writers. Anyway, last time we left Emerald, she was accepting Fury's term of conditions and putting herself further in the middle of the Marvel world. So this chapter is basically wrapping it all up and next chapter we'll be actually starting the Avengers movie YAYAYA I'M SO EXCITED. Please read and review my loves because you know you want to and it's just way too awesome to resist I know. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed! We know who you are! XD A special thank you to my beta **A Pirate By Any Other Name**. Oh and none of us own the Avengers sadly, only the girls themselves. Keep calm and fangirl on! :)

**Predetermined Fate**

**Chapter 10: Reflections and Perfections**

Knowledge and power. Power and knowledge. Knowledge wielding power. Power wielding knowledge. Each element went hand in hand with the other, fitting together like a single puzzle. And yet the puzzle was not completely solved yet; there were still many pieces yet to be put together. Two puzzle pieces are not enough to paint an entire picture, for certain.

Knowing what I did know and feeling the burden and responsibility of everyone's ultimate safety was hard. But I managed to get through it, much like others going through similar scenarios. It wasn't uncommon... But not many people just dropped in from the future, I reminded myself. _You were one of three. And this time, you're alone_. I shook my head, letting myself drift back into memories.

A year.

It was hard to believe that an entire year had passed since I entered this world. I found myself thinking less and less about my old life and what would happen there than the new life ahead of me and the adventures I would cause. Because, indirectly, this was my entire fault.

Over the past year, time had flown by. Relationships had grown, trust had been gathered, adventures sought, the works. And I was a part of it. There was no turning back now. My friends - oh there wasn't a day that passed that I didn't think about that - were hopefully feeling the same way. Val, if she was where I assumed she was, should have arrived in the Marvel world two days after I did. And Pandora should be arriving any day now in her Captain America world of New York City. Time had to have passed slowly for her. A year and a month for us, one month for her, if my calculations were correct (and they always were). Poor child.

I sighed, leaning my head against the leather couch in the enclosed space. I looked to my right, locking my eyes on the typical scene before me. Tony was arguing with Pepper again about some business plan that they were developing. I tried my hardest to stay out of it; I hated involving myself in subjects that I knew I couldn't keep up in. This was one of them. I couldn't stay out forever though... Being an assistant - er pretending to be one - had its perks for sure. I breathed in, trying to relax myself, and closed my eyes, letting sleep overtake and dreams of my past consume me.

_"Just remember," came the droning voice of my least favorite person at this moment. "Act natural and you'll do fine."_

_I suppressed an eye roll. I appreciated the help that Pepper was trying to offer, but it just wasn't helping at all. I was distracted, nervous that I was going to screw up the job itself, even more agitated that I was going to fail Fury, and on top of it all, Pepper was lecturing me on the ways of Stark Industries. I wanted to scream at her that I already knew everything. I had known everything there was to know about Stark Industries since I was fifteen. Pathetic, I know, but it did come in handy, especially now. I could tell Pepper was forcing herself to act happy around me like no one was exactly sure what to do with me. I didn't blame them either. I didn't blame them one bit. _

_I sighed, giving the red-haired assistant a quick nod. "I think I got it from here thanks," I said. _

_Pepper looked taken aback for a moment before nodding once in response and clicking her way out of the room. I resisted the urge to bang my head ruthlessly against the table. Why did she hate me so much? I idolized her when I was younger - and I still do - but why couldn't she see past my web of lies? She was the only one left around here that knew I was lying. I don't think she knew the truth but there was something in her eyes that betrayed her own knowledge and power. _

_Indirectly, it all came down to that. _

_I ran a hand through my hair, messing it up like I usually end up doing. I didn't care about looking perfect for a day at work. Take it or leave it was my personal opinion, although I know quite a few people would argue with me. I stood alone in the room, trying my hardest not to look like a Barbie doll, and stared at myself in the mirror. _

_"Oh Emerald," I whispered, shaking my head. "What have you gotten yourself into this time?"_

_There was a chuckle, surprising me as I spun around with my heart racing. I bit my lip to stop the swear words from bubbling out of my mouth. They were already there, and yet I held them back like a good girl would. Val should be proud. _

_"Tony!" I exclaimed, shaking my head violently. "Don't do that to me!"_

_He smirked, "Usual first day employee pranks. You should get used to it."_

_I faked a smile, trying to hide how nervous I actually was. "Thanks," I breathed, the sarcasm just rolling off my tongue. _

_"I'm only kidding Em. You need to relax. You will be fine, you're working for me after all!"_

_I rolled my eyes, "Not the point. I'm not afraid of you-" He cut me off with another smile, trying to send some positive vibes towards me. I shook my head, continuing, "I'm not afraid, I'm nervous."_

_He raised an eyebrow, "You nervous? Never."_

_"Cute," I said, pursing my lips in disapproval. "What's your first task for me Mister Stark?" I stood up straight, taking my job very seriously. I felt like I was in the role of Pepper herself, and that made me smile in spite of the entire situation. I could definitely get used to this._

Thinking back upon my first day working at Stark Industries gave me shivers despite the annoying heat radiating from my reclined leather seat. It sort of solidified the entire situation that I had gotten myself into; it was the final marker that this was real and there was no turning back. But I wasn't nervous, I didn't regret anything that had happened (so far), and I wasn't sure if I could even go back anymore. If I got the chance, would I take it? And what of my friends? My eyes fluttered as my mind built up with the constant pondering questions, but I pushed them aside and let the next memory overtake me.

_Surprisingly, Fury kept to his word. When I first agreed to Fury's little plan, I honestly didn't think he was serious about everything. Especially the cat suit, the brown cat suit to be specific. So when JARVIS announced to me one morning that there was a package from SHIELD to me, I must admit that I was thoroughly shocked. _

_I was in the gym built into the Stark Mansion when Tony finally noticed it. I must admit, he was quite observant even if he seemed to follow me around like a lost puppy. Not that I was complaining… It was probably because he always had something for his assistant to do. I sighed, letting my thoughts wander away like usual. My punches on the punching bag became sloppier and weaker, missing the mark as my feelings got in the way of judgment. _

_I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't even hear him sneak up on me until it was too late. Like usual, I jumped ten feet in the feet from my position facing the punching bag. A shrill shriek exploded from my lips and I landed facing the intruder, who was now almost doubled over laughing. I crossed my arms over my chest, narrowing my eyes. Typical Tony._

_"Nice suit," he managed to spit out, straightening himself out after his laughing bout. "I see Fury has been rewarding you well for keeping quiet."_

_I smirked, my heart pace finally returning to normal. "Cute," I stated, quipping my famous one-word line._

_"I mean," Tony continued. "You look really bad ass and all, but what are you doing?"_

_I raised an eyebrow, "Do you not think I can fight?" He gave me a skeptical look in response and I swept on before he could get a word in, "Do you think I'm weak?"_

_"Em, you're all bones."_

_It was a nice compliment to anyone else, for sure, but not to me. I had heard it all my life, and I was sick of it. "Muscle," I corrected him. "I'm a dancer, remember?"_

_Tony raised his eyebrows playfully, "Exotic?" His eyes flashed, half teasing. "Those are my favorite."_

_"No, you asshole!" I cried, slapping him on the shoulder. I let out a little chuckle, despite my disgust. "I'm a ballerina, actually," I added as an afterthought._

_"Oh come on, how hard can it be?"_

_I laughed. If only he knew… "You'd be surprised," I responded._

_"Show me something."_

_I took a step backwards, clearly shocked. That was absolutely one of my pet peeves, being a dancer, although it didn't seem to bother me when Tony was saying it. I hated it when people wanted me to 'show them a dance move' or imitated a ballerina's markings. I just hated people in general; except this was an alternate universe and suddenly my pet peeves didn't matter anymore. I wondered why…_

_I sighed, "I'm not just going to break out into Swan Lake."_

_"Something," he persisted, grinning in my direction. "Anything, teach me."_

_I shrugged, letting him hang for a moment. He looked at me with pleading eyes, and I knew I couldn't resist. Damn those gorgeous eyes. I groaned in exasperation but broke out into Waltz of the Flowers from Nutcracker anyway. It was one of my favorite dances and one that I didn't mind demonstrating really. I managed to get a full thirty seconds in before Tony, being the annoying man that he was, started to imitate me. I stopped what I was doing as he began leaping across the floor, looking half like a drunken deer and half like a cow on heroine. I chuckled, shaking my head._

_"You're doing it all wrong," I commented._

_He shrugged, "Eh close enough."_

_"Nice try champ," I patted him on the shoulder. "Just admit that there's one thing that you simply cannot do."_

_He leaned in, whispering with that stupid smirk stuck on his face, "Never."_

_I made a face in response, one that he ignored like always. He simply chose to stare at me with those piercing eyes for a few seconds before responding on a completely different subject. Another typical Stark move. "Now that you've taught me something," he smirked, causing me to raise my eyebrow in questioning. "I must return the favor."_

_"When have you ever returned _any_ favor?"_ _I quizzed._

_Tony made a face to equal my own, "Not the point." I smirked at his expression as he carried on, "You proved me wrong with your balletic skill, let's see if you can prove me wrong again."_

_I raised my eyebrow, not expecting these words to appear from between his teeth. "What are you suggesting?" I wondered aloud._

_"Hit me."_

_I should have known that was coming. My eyebrows skyrocketed to the top of my forehead as I took a step backwards, almost knocking into the punching bag. "I'm not going to hit you Tony!" I exclaimed._

_He shook his head, refusing to let up. He repeated his words from before, "Hit me."_

_"Tony," I started to explain slowly. "I'm not just -"_

_"Wimp."_

_"Excuse me?" I questioned, shaking my head. This man was way too confusing for me… One moment, he was praising my skills at life in general and the next, he was insulting me. Unbelievable. _

_"Chicken."_

_I had to laugh, "I beg your pardon?"_

_He smirked, knowing that he was cracking me. That small chuckle ruined me, and he and I both knew it. I was done for the moment he walked into the room. Damn him and his sexy ways. Honestly, how did people constantly defy him so easily? I sighed as he commented, "Coward."_

_That was it. I let out another small trill of laughter before I swung my right arm, connecting with his left cheek. He stumbled backwards for a moment, clearly shocked that I actually did something for once. I smirked, folding my arms across my chest, kind of proud of myself for sticking up for myself._

_"Oh it's a party now!" he stood up straight, adjusting his jaw from where I punched him._

_I cocked my head to one side, simply taunting him with my arms folded across my chest. I was ready for whatever he threw at me. He rolled his head around a few times, hopping in place before facing me with another signature smirk written on his face. I raised an eyebrow, fighting the smile that was creeping up on my face already. I wasn't sure if I could take this seriously._

"You done?" I questioned.

_"Impatient?" came my only response._

_I shook my head, "Never." I gave him another defiant stare, challenging him to make the first move. He stared back for a moment before swinging his legs forward and knocking me off my feet. I instinctively rolled over, waiting for the next move, when he slammed on the ground where I had been just lying. I wrapped my leg around his ankle and hit the back of his knee with my free hand so he was sent tumbling to the ground as well. I leapt to my feet easily, stepping lightly on his chest with my combat boot, feeling pretty bad ass. He smiled up at me with that devilish grin on his face and I couldn't help but laugh. I took my foot off, thinking he had admitted defeat and held out a hand to help him up to his own feet. He took it without hesitation but instead yanked me down to the ground, sending me sprawling across the hard wood floor. I supposed I underestimated his strength as I smashed my head against the wall. I blinked a couple of times to get my thoughts back together and stumbled upright once more. I frowned, not seeing where Tony had gone, and was instantly answered by a stab to my left side. I caught his arm before he could retract it back in and twisted it around, kicking him straight in the gut at the same time. He doubled over for a second, swinging his right arm out at the same time, connecting with my shoulder. I held my ground surprisingly and made another jab to his face. He ducked at the last minute and kicked his foot out, aiming for my chest. I leaned backwards, barely missing the sole of his shoe on my face, and recovered with another punch. He grabbed my fist, and we locked eye contact before we both dropped our hands to catch our breaths._

_"You're actually not bad," Tony said in between gulps of air, "for a Fury bitch."_

_I shook my head, "He's keeping me quiet. That's it."_

_Tony wasn't convinced and frankly, I didn't blame him. Who would believe me after all of that confusion and lies? "Are you sure about that?" he cocked his head to one side. "Nicky always has some alternate plan." I was wrong yet again. He doubted Fury, not me. That seemed odd._

_"I think I'm in control of my own life."_

_"Never said you weren't," he commented, holding his hands in the air. "I'm just watching out for you."_

_I raised an eyebrow suspiciously, "Why? We just met a few months ago -" Tony interrupted me with a quick interjection, "Seven months and a day."_

_I took a step backwards in obvious shock. I didn't even remember off the top of my head and now the selfish conceited man of the house did? Something was definitely wrong with this picture. "How did you remember?" I pondered aloud._

_"There are some things that are worth remembering."_

_I didn't have an answer for that, looking down at the ground with a grin plastered across my face. I couldn't fight that one off this time. But apparently, Tony wasn't quite finished._

_He shrugged, "You seem to be the only one who fully understands me. I guess it's because you worked for the Council or whatever shit you're giving, but even without that, you're different. You're good for me."_

_I couldn't bring myself to tell him the truth. That I, technically, didn't exist in this world, that he wasn't real in my world, that all of this would disappear someday. Instead, I just looked up into his deep brown eyes and smiled, the tears pricking at the corners of my eyelids. _

_Tony coughed, not used to seeing people getting emotional around him. "But I also know quite a few things about you," he continued._

_I forced a laugh, wiping the tears from my eyes as I responded, "Do tell."_

_"Such as that your birthday is today. November 30th. Seven months and a day from April 29th, the day that I saved your sorry little life."_

_I ignored the sarcastic jab, my jaw dropping flat open. How in the world did - I opened and closed my mouth several times before I finally gave up trying to form words to say._

_"I'm Tony Stark, Emerald, don't doubt me for a moment."_

_I smirked, regaining my momentum. "Well-" I began to say, trailing off to leave the rest up to imagination._

_"Don't answer that," he smirked back, getting my sense of humor. "Just… open." He produced a small silver box from the inside of his jacket and placed it gently in my hands. I looked up at him, peering at him curiously. _

_"Tony, you didn't have to," it came out as a whisper._

_He gave another shrug like it was no big deal. But in my world, especially my world, it was. It was to me. "I know," he said, "but I have a reputation to uphold."_

_I gave a small trill of laughter and slowly opened the top of the box. Instantly, I gasped, my hands flying to my mouth in complete surprise. For inside the small box was a simple silver necklace with an arc reactor charm hanging on the end. "Oh my God Tony!" I exclaimed, my voice shaking. _

_"It's not much but-"_

_I cut him off with a hug, my arms flinging around his neck. I could feel his laugh as he hugged me back after a moment of shock. "Thank you," I whispered._

I instinctively touched my chest where the necklace was hanging. I hadn't taken it off since that day and it had seemed Tony's technology had come through again. The silver hadn't tarnished once. I smiled to myself, fluttering in and out of consciousness as I let myself succumb to the next memory I had stored.

_Apparently, being an assistant also stood for chief party planner. Pepper had approached me last week with a stack of papers for the annual Stark Christmas Party and all but shoved them in my hands. She wanted nothing to do with it anymore… now that I was here. Perfect. I didn't complain, I didn't whine, I did my job like I was told. I knew I had to keep my promise, even if it meant working for Fury. _

_I didn't have the time to enjoy myself, however, even if I did all of the planning. I still had more work to do before tomorrow, even if it was Christmas. I was sitting in the separate, more private living room, frantically typing an email to the head son of a bitch himself. Fury owed me big time for all of this information. I always felt guilty, spying on Tony like this, but I reminded myself that if this is what it took to get him in the Avengers, I would do it. I would do anything. _

_"Wanna dance beautiful?" came a voice from behind me and I instinctively threw the top to my laptop down, not wanting anyone to read anything. I spun around, my heart hammering in my chest as I locked eyes with the iron man himself. He had a typical glass of something in his hands, and I could smell the alcohol on his breath from across the room. And yet, I still blushed._

_"Stop it," I said, breaking eye contact. "I'm working and you're drunk."_

_He shrugged, setting his glass down on the nearest table. "My offer still stands," he said, raising an eyebrow casually._

_"I really can't -" _

_I was pulled to my feet reluctantly as he crossed the room in a few strides. I was pulled to his chest, and despite it all, my heart still sped up at the close contact between us. All of this still didn't feel real. I mean, I was dancing alone in a room with barely any music with Tony freaking Stark. I sighed, knowing he wouldn't remember any of this in the morning. I felt him snake his arm around my back as we intertwined fingers in the typical partnering stance. _

_"Tony," I sighed, trying not to show how much I enjoyed this. "I know you, you've done this before."_

_"It's Christmas, Em. Relax."_

_I fell silent, just listening to the music that was barely audible in this side room and swaying from side to side. The awkwardness grew stronger and stronger until I couldn't take it anymore._

_"You've improved," I commented for lack of anything else to say._

_Tony smirked in response, "Well, alcohol loosens up my feet."_

_I rolled my eyes, "Of course it does."_

_"Don't sound so bitter," he said. "This was meant to be fun. You did a great job with all of this."_

_I smiled a little, not knowing where he was going with this. I wasn't sure if he was being serious or not but played along nonetheless. "Thank you," I nodded, "but this really isn't supposed to be my time off."_

_"Enjoy it," he chuckled. "Your boss granted you the leisure time."_

_I smiled, "I wouldn't exactly call it leisure, more like pain in the ass."_

_He spun me around in time to the music, making my breathing quicken for a moment. "Oh that's how it is huh?" he questioned, somehow knowing I was joking. When were we not?_

_"Exactly," I smirked._

_"And this is why I have to be," he quipped back, spinning me back around to meet him and dipping me close to the ground, "creative." I gave an involuntary little gasp as he leaned in close, his smirk growing closer and closer. I looked up into his eyes, knowing that there was something there that wasn't there before. I closed them a second later as he leaned in closer still. _

_"Yo T!" came the interruption that I almost knew was going to happen. I straightened up, looking away awkwardly as Colonel Rhodes came sauntering into the room. "There's something you need to see."_

_I took that ideal moment when Tony was distracted to slip away from the whole situation. I swiftly picked up my laptop from where it was abandoned on the couch and clicked my way to my room down the hallway. _

_I heard, "Just a minute," coming from Tony where I had just left him and I could his eyes on my back as I walked away. Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes, trying so hard not to look back. Why had I been so stupid? He was drunk and was probably just looking to get laid. I couldn't fall for that again, no matter what. _

Just thinking back upon the memory hurt like a fresh wound. I could feel his breath on my lips still from when the song had ended perfectly. I shook my head violently; I couldn't think on that now, that meant nothing. Nothing at all.

_It was growing closer and closer each day to October. That month was the month when it all happened. The Avengers Initiative. The New York takeover. Everything. I had been avoiding Tony since the Christmas party, being nothing more than an assistant to him. It had been hard, not being able to joke around with him or anything but I knew it was for the better. I couldn't afford to lose what I had. So when I was called down by JARVIS into Tony's office, I was thoroughly surprised. I headed down the familiar steps, punching in the code to the workshop and entering with no issues. He wasn't in the main area so I headed around the back to see if I could locate the mystery man of the hour._

_I spotted him as soon as I rounded the corner, standing on the Iron Man podium. The suit had just been finished assembling around him and he was clutching his helmet, turning around to greet me. _

_"You, uh, wanted to see me?" I asked, trying not to marvel over the suit itself. _

_He smiled like he was sincerely glad to see me, "Yeah, I wanted a goodbye kiss and you know how Pepper gets." I wasn't sure if he was kidding or not, but my reaction would have been the same nonetheless. I simply stared at him until he continued, "Kidding, calm yourself. I trust you know how to fly a jet?"_

_I frowned. What kind of question was that? "No," I said slowly, speaking the truth. "I hate planes, let alone flying them."_

_"Hm, I guess we'll use the autopilot function then," he replied to himself before speaking up, "You better get used to it."_

_I started to catch on where he was going with this, and I must say that I didn't expect it one bit. "Are - are you asking me to come with you? On a mission?"_

_"Indirectly."_

_I shook my head, "I'm not ready. I can't do this. I can't just leave my life behind, putting my entire trust in you and assuming I'm going to die."_

_"You don't have to put your _entire_ trust in me," he grinned. "I have faith in you." I rolled my eyes, not sure whether he was being sarcastic or not. "Besides, JARVIS seems to think you're ready."_

_I made a face, "So I'm putting my life in my own hands thanks to a computer, yeah I feel real safe now." The sarcasm just rolled off my tongue that I barely missed Tony's response._

_"And I do too."_

_I frowned, not sure what he meant. "I've been watching you and I agree," he gave a small reassuring smile. "You've been training for months. It's time you got a taste of the real thing. And besides, there is no one I would rather have fighting at my side. Not even Rhodey."_

_"I wouldn't be saying that so soon," I responded, trying to fight off the grin that was already plastered on my face. I couldn't stand this anymore, not talking to Tony. He was literally perfect. I bit my lip as I locked eye contact again. _

_"Suit up, we leave in five."_

Looking back at the mission, it was probably one of the most terrifying and thrilling moments of my entire life. It was honestly perfect. I had been using that word a lot to describe things, usually Tony, but it was - perfect. I didn't do much on that mission, I was only the backup, but that didn't matter. It led way to me becoming a sidekick of sorts, as much as I hated to think of myself as that. But it didn't matter much to me. I was finally a part of something great, and I wasn't about to ruin that. Many missions later and I was still alive and learning… I considered that an accomplishment.

_It was now June and the end of summer was fast approaching. My excitement level was building, especially now that I could put my cat suit to good use. Just thinking back upon my adventures here gave me chills, and I kept telling myself to live in the moment. That was perhaps the best thing about it all. I could finally be myself, be free to be whoever I wanted to be. Essentially, I could leave my old life behind. I was approached one afternoon about a week ago by Tony and Pepper unexpectedly, and I was actually rather worried. They both had grim looks on their faces and I was afraid of the news that they were about to spring on me._

_"I know you've just settled in here," Pepper began slowly, "but we've decided -"_

_"We're temporarily moving to New York!" Tony exclaimed, not able to contain himself anymore. Pepper threw an annoyed look in his direction for ruining her speech and interrupting her, and I couldn't hold in the chuckle that bubbled from my lips._

_Pepper forced a smile onto her face, "Tony's building a tower there to promote Stark Industries' new eco-friendly power sources, and so we thought we would spend some time there."_

_I did my best to act surprised although the excitement was getting to me. "That's fabulous!" I cried. "When are we leaving?"_

_Tony smirked, "Who said we're inviting you?" I raised an eyebrow and the smirk grew wider on the billionaire's face. "Kidding Em, don't worry. It wouldn't be a party without you."_

_That was the final seal on our fates. I knew it was finally becoming a reality. I was going home._

I was jolted back into consciousness by a gentle hand shaking my shoulder. I blinked open my eyes to see Pepper peering over me curiously. "We've landed," she said simply before straightening up and heading back to her seat to collect her belongings.

I was never one for flying or planes or anything. Definitely not my cup of tea, but I had to admit that flying on Tony's jet was actually fantastic. It was probably more equipped and better than Air Force One, I actually wouldn't doubt it one bit. I stood up, the gravity pulling on my head, and stumbled my way to the front of the plane. When I stepped outside onto the runway, I breathed in the scent of the New York City air. Home sweet home indeed, though I wasn't sure if it was the New York I remembered. Alternate universe or not, this was perfect.

I smiled at the sight of the city as we clambered into Tony's personal limousine. Travelling like this was way nicer than I ever would have imagined. I leaned my head back against the black leather seat and sighed.

"Everything alright?" came a concerned voice. Pepper again. Did she ever leave me alone? I opened one eye, nodding. Things had always been a little too awkward between us for my taste, and it didn't seem like they were going to fix themselves either.

"Welcome home," Happy announced from the driver's seat. I had to smile. The bodyguard was right in more ways than one. This _was_ home, to me. I turned my head to the right, spotting the Empire State Building and all of the familiar city sights. I felt a hand brush my arm and I spun back around to face Tony, who was examining my glances.

"You missed it here didn't you?" he asked, cocking his head to one side.

I beamed, "I guess I did." I continued to gaze out the window once more when Tony tossed something into my lap. I caught it at the last minute and glanced over at him curiously, opening my mouth to question him.

"I thought you might like it back," he commented first, gesturing to my own phone that I had just received. "I took it from you when you were sleeping on the plane and made a few modifications." I raised an eyebrow but the billionaire continued anyway, "It now includes a full map of Stark Tower, er what is completed so far from my visits here before. The basics are set up and anytime updates are made, they will automatically sync."

I had to smile, "Stark tech does it again." Tony smirked back at me and even Pepper gave a small leer in my direction. I considered that a success.

As the limo rolled to a stop, I ended up being the first one to emerge from the vehicle. I didn't get very far. The sight of Stark Tower itself made me stop in my tracks. I swore under my breath and headed up the street towards my new home.

I awoke that night with a jolt, almost as if I were forgetting something… well because I realized I had forgotten something. Something so immense that I wanted to repeatedly hit myself over and over again for my mistake. I grabbed my phone off of the side table, opening up the map to Stark Tower. I stared at the three-dimensional holographic model that appeared in front of my eyes, my mouth dropping open at the complexity. I spun it around a few times before I found what I was looking for.

A few minutes later, I was standing in front of the largest, most complex computer I had ever seen in my life. Tony had done well with his new office; I had to approve. I pressed a button on the holographic keyboard and the computer fired to life, creating a whirring sound that made me wish that no one else would hear.

"Can I help you with something Miss Maitland?" came the electronic voice of JARVIS through the speakers in the room. I winced, hoping that it didn't wake Tony wherever he was.

I shook my head, "I'm good JARVIS. Just keep it down and keep this a secret alright?"

"Another secret project I see?"

I rolled my eyes, "Mute."

JARVIS fell silent and I turned back to the task at hand. I found a search engine on the screen and tapped it once with my finger, bringing up a whole database that I had never seen before. I wondered what Val would do in this situation, being the computer geek that she was. A pang in my heart made me feel guilty again, and I knew I was doing the right thing.

Slowly, I typed in 'Pandora Whitman' and hit enter. Nothing. I sighed, knowing it wasn't going to be that easy. I made a face and tried 'Steve Rogers,' but still nothing. I groaned quietly, running a hand through my hair. 'Pandora Rogers' and 'Steve Whitman' brought up no results either. Someone was trying very hard to keep them off the grid.

Then, it hit me.

Smirking, I typed in a name I knew was the last hope. A single ping showed up on the screen, causing a grin to appear on my face. I had what I needed. A single address.

"Got you," I smirked, grabbing my coat off the nearest chair and headed out the door, not even bothering to clear any evidence that I was here.

Sneaking into the apartment building was easy enough, especially with all of the training that I had been going through lately. The hardest part was bringing myself to knock on the big wooden door that I had been standing in front of for about ten minutes now. _It was late and they probably were sleeping, maybe they weren't even home… _The thoughts ran through my mind but I finally pushed them aside and knocked once hard.

A tall blond man answered the door with a sleepy, "Hello?"

My breath caught in my throat as I stared at the one and only Steve Rogers. Captain America was standing in front of me. I had to take a couple of breaths to compose myself before I shook my head, answering finally. "Is Pandora Whitman here?"

Steve shook his head right back, but the door opened wider nonetheless. I heard a soft "Steve, it's fine" before I took another step backwards, my black hood still firmly attached to my head. I locked eyes with one of my best friends in the entire world.

"Who the hell are you?" questioned Pandora, her red hair still perfectly straight despite the lateness of the night.

I took a deep breath and lowered my hood. I forced a smile on my face despite my hammering heart, "Surprise."


End file.
